A Member of Parliament: We Sell Chinese Cars Worth 300 Million Tomans for 3 Billion

A member of parliament criticized the car market and the high prices of Chinese products, stating that "Chinese cars sold in Iran, which have a real price of 300 to 350 million tomans, are imported at 750 to 800 million tomans and sold in the market for 3 billion tomans." Lotfollah Siyahkeli believes that economic policies and laws do not adhere to governance rules, and it is unclear why, when people are aware of the price differences between cars in Iran and abroad, such behaviors are observed. A look at the car market in Iran shows that Chinese cars, which are recognized as economical and cheap in foreign markets, have turned into luxury vehicles in Iran, and according to this member of parliament, they are sold for up to 10 times their actual price. What is evident in the Iranian car market includes factors such as drip-feed supply, import bans, and the government's significant role in the car market, which strengthens suspicions of a mafia in this sector. In this context, Saeed Motameni, head of the Tehran Auto Showroom Union, stated in an interview that "selling assembled cars at high prices is due to market management and the level of supply that the assembly companies provide." He noted that since imports are banned and supply is limited, consumers have no choice but to buy these cars. The entry of automakers into the import of Chinese cars is another monopolistic issue in Iran, which the conservative website Mashregh News has also protested, stating: "While we expected that after the liberalization of car imports, we would see the entry of high-quality foreign cars at reasonable prices, we see that Saipa is doing us a favor by importing Changan Chinese cars." The import of cars was supposed to be conducted according to a government resolution aimed at regulating the market, which ultimately led to the import of Chinese products by automakers. The import of second-hand cars, which has recently been approved, was announced with a 176% tariff, raising ambiguities such as "government profiteering" and "intensifying market monopolies."