If spare parts shortage in the domestic market were to continue in the next two months, prices will increase, according to the head of the Auto Spare Parts Union.
“The shortage in the domestic spare parts market has been caused by a lack of imports, as none of the parts importers has been able to register an order over the past year,” Abdolhadi Khosro-Fard was also quoted as claiming by the news portal of Car.ir.
“At present, many cars are stuck in car service agencies due to the shortage of spare parts,” he added.
Asked about the situation of smuggled spare parts, the official said, “Even the smuggling of auto spare parts is not cost-effective anymore, as customers are not buying smuggled parts because of the product ID plan.”
Khosro-Fard noted that many spare parts dealers have closed their shops due to the critical situation in the domestic market.
“When they want to import a car, they should consider importing and producing its parts. Currently, repairing the engine of an imported Chinese car costs more than 700 million rials [$1,733],” he said.
Lately, the domestic automotive market has also been roiled by a shortage of motor oil.
The outbound smuggling of motor oil due to the difference in domestic and foreign prices has become problematic for domestic car owners, according to the secretary of the Iranian Oil Refinery Association.
Salman Esmaeili explained that smugglers collect motor oil from the domestic market at the government-mandated price and smuggle it to neighboring countries under different labels and brands after receiving the customs declaration.
“The shortage of motor oil in the market has not been caused by a decline in domestic production,” he said.
According to the Association of Oil Refineries, the average production of motor oil in the third quarter of the current fiscal (Sept. 23-Dec. 21) has increased by 10% compared with the same period of last year.
Spare Part Users Object to Subpar Quality, Overcharging
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 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.
