Imported cars will be offered at Iran Mercantile exchange (IME) later this month if the prerequisites are met, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade said.
“So far there are orders for 40,000 foreign cars. Permits for sale and number plate registration have been received and there are no impediments for import or customs clearance of foreign cars,” Omid Qalibaf was quoted by SENA as saying.
The Industry Ministry seeks to offer some 900,000 domestically-made cars via the IME in the next 6 months, Qalibaf said.
“Nearly 170,000 Iran-made vehicles will on offer via this market in the coming days by the two main carmakers Iran Khodro Co. (IKCO) and SAIPA.”
It is estimated that with the increase in car sales the market will be saturated and cars will lose their luster as a capital good. With the rial taking a historic drubbing in recent months people in a desperate hunt for safe havens have rushed to the gold, forex, real estate and car markets to protect their life’s savings.
Earlier, Industry Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin said that 200,000 vehicles will be imported by mid-2023.
“Per plans, 100,000 cars will be imported in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year [Dec 2022-March 20, 2023] and 100,000 vehicles will be imported in next fiscal year’s first quarter [March 21-June 21, 2023],” he said.
IME recently said that it accepted 21,140 cars imported from China’s Changan and South Korea’s Kia companies. SAIPA will soon be offering 19,000 Changan cars at the IME, SENA reported.
Moreover, Koosha Khodroo Negin Trading Company will offer 500 Kia Ceratos, 500 Kia Sportages, 500 Kia K5s, 200 Kia Ceeds, 100 Kia Picantos, 100 Kia Pegas, 100 Kia Rios, 70 Kia Sonets, and 70 Kia Seltos via the bourse. IKCO will send its Rana brand to the IME in the near future.
Semblance of Transparency
Market observers say selling cars via the IME has been a success. Since the beginning of the fiscal year in March, auto offers at the IME increased rapidly underpinning the long-awaited demand for transparency, unlike what customers encounter in the free market.
Auto trade in the exchange reached 17,766 vehicles in nine months with Peugeot 207s topping the list at 5,200. In the same period 2,970 Tara cars, produced/assembled by Saipa were bought followed by 2,064 Shahin sedans made by the same company, 1,228 Fidelity models manufactured/assembled by Bahman Motors along with 3,605 Haima of Iran Khodro and Dignity brands.
Bahman Motors also sold 1,098 Kara pickups, a popular vehicle in Iran originally produced by Mazda.
Data show that 374 Lamari Eamas of Arian Pars Motor, 69 KMC T8s by Kerman Motor and 68 JAC S5s by Kerman Motor were sold since the beginning of the year.
Heavy-duty vehicles, FAW and EM Power brands from China assembled by Bahman Motors and Siba Motor, were also popular. A total of 207 Empower puller trucks by Bahman Diesel and 35 FAW puller trucks from Siba Motor were sold.
Reza Eyvazlou, an official at the Securities and Exchange Organization, says offering cars at the IME creates the conditions for transparent trade and eliminates the army of avaricious middlemen harming the key auto sector.
“Now automakers can sell their products at market prices and this is in the interest of producer and consumer.”
Eyvazlou concurred that in the past weeks auto prices had jumped in the domestic market, but argued that that has nothing to do with the sale of cars in the stock market.
“I’m certain that if we continue to offer cars at the IME it will indeed help balance prices.” He did not elaborate nor did he say why both new and used car prices have been rising at full speed reaching levels unheard of in decades in the chaotic domestic auto market.
IME recently announced new regulations for automakers to sell cars via this market. Iran Khodro and Saipa are obliged to list a minimum of 2,000 vehicles in every offer. The floor is 500 units for private car producers.
The intention apparently is to improve the supply side as automakers henceforth cannot offer a limited number of vehicles at the IME. Officials say the move can also help reduce the final price.
Carmakers must submit the list of buyers in the 48 months before each offer so that their names can be eliminated from the list of eligible buyers. Each vehicle can be registered with one Iranian ID number. Those aged 18 and above can buy a car at the IME in a one-off deal.
