The national online car ordering portal, Esalecar.ir, has created a monopolistic market, according to an automotive expert.
While a debate is raging among market players about the benefit of supplying cars through the Iran Mercantile Exchange or the national online car ordering portal, experts and economists warn about the negative impact of restricting car manufacturers' pre-sale until the end of next year through Esalecar.ir system.
In an interview with the Persian automobile daily Donyaye Khodro, Masoud Daneshmand, a member of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, pointed to the trial and error approach of the automotive industry and the consequences of pre-sales, which have placed the car manufacturers’ output in reserve until the end of next year.
"The national online car ordering portal did not benefit buyers and manufacturers, and has become a tool for applying trial and error policies inherited from the previous government," he said.
"One of the biggest challenges of the domestic auto industry is that the portal has monopolized demand. In the registrations made in the portal based on current conditions, few applicants can buy their cars from the factory. While we can safely say that more than 80% of real car buyers do not manage to enter the final waiting list."
Commenting on the supply of cars on IME, the automotive expert said, "Although car supply in the transparent and competitive environment of the commodity exchange is one of the ways of keeping the automobile industry away from command pricing, this move is inconsistent with the plans of car policymakers."
Asked what measures are considered necessary for balancing car supply and demand, he said the country's political environment should be assessed.
“If international relations are improving, the plan to increase car production will have a single format. Accordingly, we should consider elements such as product development, use of global capacity, export, etc.,” he said.
“Since the country has the automotive infrastructure, global automobile manufacturers are willing to cooperate with Iranian carmakers. But if the opposite is the case and Iran does not reach an agreement, naturally we’ll have to stand on our own feet and rely on the existing capabilities.”
Daneshmand stated that an increase in production can definitely be achieved, but it is necessary to eliminate command pricing to register production growth and prevent losses, while developing the automobile industry.
97% of Buyers in National Portal to Receive Cars by March 2025
A majority of buyers who registered in the national online car ordering portal, Esalecar.ir, will receive their vehicles by the end of the fiscal 2024-25 (March 20, 2025).
Mehdi Taqaddosi, the portal’s manager, told the Persian automotive daily Donyaye Khodro that based on the production plan of car manufacturers and the schedule set by the portal, 97% of applicants who have registered in the second phase of the integrated sale will receive their cars by March 2025.
He stated that the remaining 3% consist of those who wanted CKD cars marketed by private automakers, which could not be supplied during the period.
“Since the demand for some models, such as Farda Motors’ FMC, was higher than their production capacity, some applicants could not purchase them from the national online car portal. However, they can opt for models offered by carmakers that fulfilled their obligations and have the production capacity to meet new demands, such as Modiran Khodro’s X22 Pro model and SAIPA’s QUIK S,” he said.
Taqaddosi said the details of the replacement plan, the deadline for withdrawing from the second phase of the integrated car sale and the updated list of cars available in the portal will be announced this week.
According to the official, the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has no plan to reopen the portal for the applicants of the first phase of integrated sales to select cars that have become available due to the withdrawal of some customers or the rise in production capacity of carmakers.
“The result of applicants seeking to replace their worn-out cars with a new vehicle has not been announced yet, because it took more time to process the information of these applicants … But in order to avoid a delay for applicants, who are not many, the results of the replacement plan for worn-out cars will be announced this week,” he said.
Taqaddosi stated that banks have been informed to unblock the funds deposited by people on June 21.
