A Police Official Reports the 'Hoarding' of Over 26,000 Vehicles in 'Unofficial' Parking Lots by Automakers

A senior official from the Islamic Republic's police announced the discovery of over 26,500 'hoarded' vehicles in the 'unofficial parking lots of the country's automakers.' In recent years, one of the citizens' issues has been the failure to receive registered vehicles, with waiting times sometimes extending to years. Hossein Rahimi, the head of the Economic Security Police of the Islamic Republic, told the newspaper 'Etemad' that during inspections conducted over the past year, 'only in one unofficial parking lot, 12,500 vehicles' were discovered. This police official identified one of the 'problems the police have with domestic automakers' as the existence of 'unofficial parking lots' used for 'vehicle storage.' Rahimi stated that out of 70 parking lots monitored, only 20 were 'official' while 50 were considered 'unofficial.' In part of the interview, the head of the Economic Security Police referred to the 'hoarding by automakers' and said: 'Late last year, a report circulated on social media indicating that a significant number of Nissan vehicles were hoarded in one of the unofficial parking lots, which prompted the Economic Security Police to investigate. It was found that over 14,000 Zamyad and Padra pickup trucks, which were suspected of being hoarded, were stored in that unofficial parking lot, while people had purchase vouchers for these vehicles, yet no cars were delivered to them.' The car market in Iran has been one of the most challenging markets in recent years. The prevention of car imports under the pretext of strengthening 'domestic car manufacturing' has created an environment where domestic automakers not only show no attention to product quality but also have a direct influence on many decision-making issues due to the monopoly granted by the government. This issue is referred to by some as the 'automotive mafia' in Iran. Experts believe that automakers influence the rising prices by offering vehicles in a trickle. In recent years, there have been numerous protests by citizens who, despite registering and paying money, have not received their vehicles. In one such instance last March, a number of applicants for Peugeot Pars, Tara, and Dena vehicles protested against the 'breach of promise in delivery and vehicle pricing' by marching and gathering in front of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade in Tehran, chanting slogans. According to the Telegram channel 'Civil Protest Market,' the protesters also objected to the 'failure to send registration calls for vehicles.' Based on published images and videos, the protesters chanted slogans against the Minister of 'Industry, Mine, and Trade,' demanding his resignation, chanting: 'Incompetent minister, resign, resign' and 'Standards are an excuse, an excuse.' Reports indicate that several government-affiliated forces were also present in front of the Ministry of 'Industry, Mine, and Trade.' In another case, Mohammad Mehdi Alaei, the governor of Qazvin, announced last December that the 'fraudulent' pre-sale company 'Razaayat Khodro Taravat Novin,' despite attracting over 12 trillion tomans from thousands of citizens, delivered less than two thousand vehicles to customers. Hossein Rajabi, the prosecutor of Qazvin, pointed to the activities of Mohammad Reza Ghafari, the arrested owner and manager of 'Razaayat Khodro Taravat Novin,' stating that there are 50,000 complainants in this 'major case.' Despite the claims of the Islamic Republic officials in fighting financial corruption, news related to billion-dollar embezzlement cases, especially in government and banking institutions, have been reported in recent years.