Auto manufacturers have to look for new strategies to deal with the grassroots campaign titled "No to Local Cars", as the deputy minister of industries denies any responsibility. Mojtaba Khosrowtaj added, "This is a company-related issue and car dealers need to come up with their own solutions to deal with the matter and the ministry should not interfere." He noted that with regard to this campaign and other measures taken, carmakers have lost their market share and should look at other options like exports to sell their vehicles, Mehr News Agency reported. Officials had earlier ignored or denied the existence of the campaign. Hashem Yekezare, CEO of Iran Khodro Company, Iran's largest auto manufacturing company, said, "It will neither result in a drop in car prices nor will it have a serious impact on production." Khosrowtaj asserted that the role of the ministry is one of policymaking and "what we can do is to create a competitive atmosphere for auto manufacturers to be active in".
