Regulations for car imports, approved by the Council of Ministers on August 17, were announced by First Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber on Aug. 25.
Although the price of imported cars has a ceiling of €20,000 freight on board and a maximum of $1 billion will be allocated in foreign currency for the purpose, cars under €10,000 FOB enjoy priority.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has also been obliged to produce economy cars worth up to €10,000 to grab a share of these imports, Donyaye Khodro reported.
As per the regulations, car imports in commercial and industrial free zones are limited to hybrid or fully electric vehicles, and only the models specified will be numbered in these zones. Importers are responsible for investing in and setting up charging stations.
“As the details of the fiscal 2022-23 car import regulations required government coordination, it was proposed and approved by the Council of Ministers last week,” Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi said.
All imported cars will be offered on the Iran Mercantile Exchange.
One of the conditions included in the car import regulations is the determination of commercial profit. First, the commercial profit will be collected by the customs office and after the sale of imported cars in IME, the difference in commercial profit will be determined.
The amount of this commercial profit will be approved by a joint committee comprising the representatives of the Industries Ministry, Economy Ministry and the Plan and Budget Organization.
Car Import Bylaws
Manouchehr Manteqi, deputy industries minister for transportation affairs, has subsequently announced bylaws for the implementation of car import.
According to the official, importers should establish or use an existing after-sales service network with the following conditions: There should be one after-sales agency for every 1,000 imported cars, spare parts should be procured before importing the vehicles and the list of these spare parts must be approved by the officials concerned, importers should train after-sale service personnel and announce the transfer of technologies in after-sales services.
Importers must have an official license from the foreign manufacturer to guarantee the provision of after-sales services or technology transfer.
People who intend to import vehicles should have experience in the field or use companies with related experience.
Announcing the technical specifications of the car and its price is the final condition for importers.
Cooperation of Two Major Carmakers
Licensing the import of foreign cars has been one of the most controversial economic issues since the beginning of the current fiscal year (March 21).
However, the parliament pursued this issue to put pressure on domestic car manufacturers for increasing the quality of their products and producing vehicles based on new standards.
Simultaneously, with the announcement of the new car import regulations, Industries, Mining and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin unveiled a new domestic economy car.
According to the minister, Iran Khodro and SAIPA, the two major Iranian automakers, will cooperate in the production of this vehicle, which currently has not been named, in the sixth month of the next fiscal year (Aug. 23-Sept. 22, 2023).
“This economy car is a Class A vehicle with a maximum horsepower of 70-75, a maximum engine torque of 90-100 Newton meters and a distance of 2,430 mm between its two axles,” Tejarat News reported.
According to the preliminary announcement, the car in question will look like SAIPA’s QUIK, be priced under 2 billion rials ($6,745) and roll out in the second half of the next fiscal year that starts on March 21, 2023.
In the last few years, the prices of domestic cars have skyrocketed to such an extent that they have become unaffordable for most people and the low quality of these high-priced cars also triggered the criticism of the Islamic Republic of Iran Police.
Despite their unreasonably high prices, domestic vehicles are in demand as the purchases are made with the intention of making investment for earning a quick profit.
