Car Import Firms Warned Against Jacking Up Prices

The price of imported cars has shot up due to the increase in foreign currency rates in the past four weeks as the rial took a new drubbing.

Iran’s deputy minister of industries told reporters soon after the price increase that the higher prices for imported vehicles is “illegal”.

Mohammad Navabi said on Sunday, “Imported goods, including vehicles, which were purchased before the recent rise in foreign exchange rates, have not been affected by the price increase [officially],” Persian Khodro reported.

He censured “Some companies for jacking up prices” on the pretext that forex has become more expensive.

Navabi added that even cars and spare parts which are currently being shipped to Iran had been purchased months before the recent currency volatility and therefore sell it at inflated prices.

Those who had bought cars earlier but are now being asked to pay extra can file a complaint with the ministry.

 Auto Presales

Navabi also addressed the issue of auto presales and said that companies must first obtain permits for such schemes. “Companies are not allowed to demand down payment over and above 50% of the final price of the product.”

Companies have an obligation to offer free after sales services for at least three months after the vehicle is delivered to the customer, he was quoted as saying.

If new car owners observe the “slightest flaw with their vehicle at the time of delivery, the company is obliged to replace the vehicle.”

Several local carmakers have been warned against unruly practices by the government and have been told that they face closure if they don’t mend their ways.

In 2015, Financial Tribune reported hundreds of people protesting the illegal activities of one local automotive company.

People gathered outside the headquarters of Iran’s Transportation, and Fuel Management Headquarters affiliated to the Presidential Office in Tehran to demand their down-payments back from one car company, the so-called Sadra Group.

According to the protesters, some 2,000 prospective car buyers had been defrauded by the company.