Low-quality and overcharging are the main customer complaints about domestic auto spare parts, according to a member of the Board of Directors of Tehran Automobile Spare Parts and Machinery Union.
According to Mehdi Kazemi, more than 2,500 complaints were filed and processed by the union in the past 20 months, Donyaye Khodro reported.
“Most of these cases pertained to complaints about the sale of low-quality parts and overcharging,” he added.
The auto spare parts market was roiled by the remposition of sanctions in 2018, which caused some profiteers to produce and distribute low-quality, unlicensed parts in the domestic market that was already aflush with smuggled, counterfeit parts bearing the names of well-known brands.
Profiteers not only disrupt the domestic market with these parts, but also inflict losses on the vehicles of unaware car owners.
Kazemi noted that around $2.5-3 billion worth of auto spare parts were smuggled into Iran in the fiscal 2020-22, which is significant.
“In a market that supplies spare parts for 250 types of cars, low-quality, smuggled and fake parts can be expected, but 20% of the spare parts are of low quality. The lack of supervision at the customs, the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran and the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade is responsible for this issue,” he said.
Identifying counterfeit and contraband spare parts can be difficult for most people and some may buy them at high prices thinking these are original parts.
He advised people to buy spare parts from sellers who have a business license obtained from the association.
The product ID and QR code project, which was launched in Qom Province to solve such issues, is currently being implemented in all provinces.
Regarding this project, Deputy Inspector of Guilds Inspection and Supervision Department Behnam Nik-Manesh said sellers have been notified about handling auto spare parts with product ID and QR code, hence customers should refuse to buy products lacking them.
“More than 75% of car spare parts do not have a warranty. This is while these parts should have a warranty for six months to a year,” he added.
Nik-Manesh noted that the product ID plan helps identify contraband and counterfeit parts.
Nevertheless, the prices of auto spare parts have increased significantly in the past few months, which has disrupted the businesses of small spare parts distributors, mechanics and auto repair shops.
ID Registration Plan Increases Auto Spare Parts Quality
The implementation of the plan for the mandatory registration of IDs for auto spare parts has eliminated most of the unlicensed producers and led to a 50% increase in the quality of spare parts, which was also effective in increasing the competitiveness and liquidity of official spare parts manufacturers, according to the head of the Spare Parts Committee of the Association of Homogeneous Propulsion Industries and Component Manufacturers.
“Currently, [however,] of the 3,000 spare parts manufacturers, only 55 are selling products with a tracking code,” Ahmadreza Ranaei was also quoted as saying by Khabar Khodro.
“The implementation of the spare parts ID plan and tracking code has been effective in eliminating 80% of unlicensed producers from the domestic market,” he added.
Nevertheless, the official did not elaborate on the plan’s impact on smuggled automotive parts that earlier swarmed the domestic market.
Asked whether the plan has helped sustain the ban on the import of counterparts available in the domestic market, he said the import of matching parts has declined because of the tight foreign currency situation and not due to this plan.
“With the ID registration for spare parts and the removal of unlicensed producers, official manufacturers are no longer under pressure and can sell auto parts at a more convenient pace,” he said.
Ranaei noted that the plan has improved the quality of 55 spare parts by about 50%.
According to another official, imported and smuggled brake pads meet 30-40% of domestic needs.
While domestic production can supply the market demand for brake pads, imported and smuggled parts constitute 30-40% of the domestic market, said secretary of Iran’s Brake and Clutch Manufacturers Association.
“Since the market abounds with imported brake pads, there is no demand for the domestic product. As there is no incentive, production has declined and it is lower than the domestic capacity. About 60-70% of domestic products and 30-40% [20,000-30,000 tons] of imported and smuggled goods meet the 75,000-ton demand of the Iranian market,” he said.
Masoud Hassanpour added that the domestic brake pad production capacity exceeds 100,000 tons.
