Current conditions in Russia have prepared the ground for the presence of Iranian auto parts makers in that country.
Its upcoming Automobility exhibition offers a golden opportunity for Iranian parts manufacturers, who have been invited to expand cooperation with the Russian auto industry.
The Russian Automobility Exhibition will be held from August 22-25 at the Moscow International Exhibition Center (Crocus Expo) with the, Donyaye Khodro reported.
Extensive sanctions against Russia have constrained this country's industrial and services sectors. Small and large foreign companies are leaving the country and Russia’s automotive industry is in limbo.
Even some Chinese partners of the Russian auto industry have backed down after these sanctions and are not willing to continue their cooperation.
Currently, Russian car manufacturers need car parts, because of which they are looking for new partners.
Although the exhibition will not be the same as before and the world's major component manufacturers will not be present in it due to the US sanctions and Russia’s war with Ukraine, it is a good opportunity for Iranian companies to expand their market in Russia, which is in dire need of all kinds of parts.
As per plans, the Iranian pavilion will be opened in the Automobility exhibition by Kazem Jalali, the Iranian ambassador, in the presence of industrial and commercial players of automobile and parts manufacturing sectors of Iran and Russia.
A joint panel will be held and a memorandum of understanding will be signed by representatives of Iranian and Russian parts manufacturing associations, apart from B2B meetings and tours of Russian car and parts manufacturing factories on the sidelines of this exhibition.
“In the past, Iranian component manufacturers did not have a serious presence in Russian exhibitions,” secretary of the Association of Homogeneous Propulsion Industries and Component Manufacturers, Arash Mohebbinejad, said.
“Along with other options, the Russians certainly looked at Iranians as an alternative, but at present Iran is the main option for cooperation with Russia for supplying car parts and producing cars. I hope we can take advantage of this exceptional opportunity and do not miss it.”
Russia has submitted a list of parts to Iran, which mainly include electronic and electrical parts, different kinds of sensors, metal and casting parts, polymer parts and braking pads. The association has passed the list to domestic component manufacturers.
The official said component manufacturers who have announced their readiness to attend will be able to meet these needs.
Auto Spare Parts Top Contraband
Automotive spare parts topped the list of smuggled goods in the fiscal 2021-22 (ended March 20), according to Spokesman of the Headquarters to Combat Smuggling of Goods and Foreign Exchange Hamid Reza Dehqani-Nia.
He announced that $17.1 billion worth of smuggled goods entered the country in the fiscal 2020-21.
The spokesman noted that after car spare parts, food was the second largest category of contraband last year, while computer equipment and home appliances respectively ranked third and fourth in the fiscal 2021-22, the news portal of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture reported.
According to Dehqani-Nia, many household appliances in the Iranian market are counterfeit.
"These products are Iranian goods fabricated or repaired in unofficial workshops and sold in the domestic market as foreign and banned brands," he said, without mentioning the value of smuggled car spare parts.
Mohammad Reza Najafi-Manesh, a member of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture and chairman of the Association of Homogeneous Propulsion Industries and Component Manufacturers, said although car spare parts topped the list of smuggled goods, it is not clear how much was smuggled into the country and how many were produced by underground and unofficial domestic units.
“The problem with evaluating this volume of smuggling is that it is not clear how much of these goods were imported and how much was produced illegally. In other words, if a product is found to be illegal, it may have been smuggled into the country, or illegally produced by unlicensed units inside the country,” he added.
Najafi-Manesh noted that another problem is that the size of the spare parts market in Iran is not known.
“Therefore, it was decided that ISACO, SAIPA Yadak and the Association of Homogeneous Propulsion Industries and Component Manufacturers cooperate to examine the volume of the spare parts market and determine how much of it is domestic and what percentage comprises counterfeit production and smuggling,” he added.
In the field of auto parts, domestic car batteries and tires were obliged to have ID and tracking codes, and it was decided that 55 other commodities produced by 173 domestic companies would receive ID and tracking codes.
Najafi-Manesh noted that Iran has 1,500 car component and spare parts producers.
