The government has no will to resolve the car import problem; no foreign car under 10 billion tomans can be found in the market

A member of the Industries and Mines Committee of the Islamic Consultative Assembly criticized the government's car import policies and the market's monopolistic structure, saying that despite parliament's efforts to reduce import tariffs, the government lacks the will to address public concerns. Rather than seeking to supply high-quality, affordable cars, he said, it is more concerned with its revenues from imports, a matter that, alongside the auto industry's dependence on imported parts and currency fluctuations, has increased

According to the report of Arjan Ambassador, Mustafa P. Radhaghan, in response to the statements of one of the members of the assembly about the competitiveness of Tiba cars with foreign cars and that such statements are repeated every time the car is discussed, he said: What insistence is there to bring up these discussions with people who play with people's nerves and how often they provoke public opinion and upset people with their outrageous comments?

Referring to the situation of car imports, he added: In the end, it became clear that the government does not seek to solve people's concerns in the field of car imports. The parliament took all the measures that were possible within the framework of the law to reduce the car import tariff and facilitate this process, but in practice, there is no will from the government to provide people with access to high-quality, safe and reasonably priced cars.

Pourdehghan stated: This is while it was expected that with the implementation of support policies and facilitation of imports, competition will be provided in the car market and the existing monopoly will be reduced to some extent. However, the government's current approach shows that the realization of this goal still faces serious obstacles and consumers have not benefited from the real benefits of car imports.

Stating that the government's main concern is the income from car imports, this member of parliament clarified that the government earned 200 thousand billion tomans from car imports this year, and it seems that it is more concerned about maintaining these incomes than trying to solve people's problems. This approach has caused import policies to be followed more in line with the realization of the government's revenue goals instead of providing the interests of consumers, and people's access to suitable cars remains limited.

He emphasized: It is because of this concern that the permission to import luxury cars has been issued in a situation where imported cars with a price of less than 9 to 10 billion tomans are hard to find in the market. In such a situation, the middle class and low-income classes are publicly deprived of the possibility of access to a suitable car, whether new or even used.

In response to the fact that people were always dissatisfied with the quality of domestic cars, this member of the Industries and Mines Commission said that during the war, as soon as the country's steel industries were targeted, while the car manufacturers had steel in their warehouses, they increased the price of their cars several times. Now that the issue of sanctions is being discussed, will the market not become more chaotic in this regard, he said: Iran's car industry, after five decades of activity, despite using the title of "national car", still has significant dependence on foreign countries. In such a way that either the raw materials needed by the parts makers must be imported or the parts themselves are supplied from outside.

He added: This dependence has caused the finished price of domestic cars to be tied to the exchange rate, and any increase in the exchange rate, the price of which in the free market is about 270 thousand tomans and the remittance price is about 180 thousand tomans, this will show its effects on the cost of production and finally the price of the car.

Pointing to the exchange rates in the market and the exchange center, Pourdehghan emphasized that the dependence on the import of raw materials and parts is one of the factors affecting the increase in the price of domestic cars, so any fluctuation in the currency market can increase production costs and this increase in costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers. An issue that reduces people's purchasing power even more.

He stated: This situation shows that the country's automobile industry has not yet reached true self-sufficiency. However, some still emphasize the need to support the national car, while a car with such a level of dependence can be considered a kind of semi-imported car.

This member of parliament considered the monopolistic structure of the market as another factor in the increase in car prices and said: Car manufacturers operate under monopoly conditions, and costs such as bonuses, high salaries, management waste, low efficiency and inappropriate productivity in the car production process are ultimately borne by the people and no one can stop them.

He added: The existing monopoly in the automobile industry has limited the possibility of effective control of this process, and the combination of these factors has seriously disturbed the country's automobile industry.

Referring to the current car prices in the market, Pourdehghan said: In the current situation, domestic cars are sold at prices of around 2.5 to 3 billion tomans, and it has become difficult for people to access cheaper and better quality cars.

A member of the Parliament's Industries and Mines Commission, referring to the Parliament's measures to reduce car import tariffs, said: "The Parliament has used all its legal capacities to reduce tariffs and facilitate imports, but the implementation of these decisions is at the disposal of the government."

He pointed out: When the government does not have the will to implement a decision, it can make its implementation difficult due to reasons such as a decrease in its revenues or restrictions on the supply of foreign currency.

In the end, Pourdehghan stressed: Unfortunately, the government does not have the necessary will and determination to solve the problems of the country's automobile industry, and it seems that its main concern is to preserve the income from car imports, rather than solving people's concerns and providing access to suitable cars.