Ministry Warns Devious Car Dealers

The Ministry of Industries, Mine and Trade has warned illegal auto companies and again cautioned car buyers to stay away from their tempting presale schemes, especially for imported vehicles.

As per an earlier regulation of the ministry that apparently is aimed at protecting consumer rights, local car dealers have an obligation to first acquire permits and then announce presales of imported and/or domestically produced vehicles, Eghtesad Online reported on December 11.

Earlier this year the ministry amended the import and sales rules of consumer goods, including for cars, requiring dealerships to obtain official representation from the relevant companies and also offer after-sales services.

The Guilds and Traders Center of Iran has released the names of 12 companies that import and sell cars without official representation from the parent company. Accordingly, the guild has warned the companies to play by the rules or have their  business licenses revoked. The companies include:

Tavan Khodro (Opel), Golrang Family Motor (Honda), IBG Motor (Skoda), Persia Khodro (BMW), Keyhan Motor Aryan (Seat and Honda), Datys Fara Diesel Arya (DAF), Rahavaran (Komatsu), Jahanro (Tazzari) and Arian Yasan Mahan (HBM Nobas).

The guild official, Yadollah Sadeqi, said “Some of these local companies have forged deals with foreign third parties. If they do not sign a deal with the parent company or its regional representative, their companies will be closed down.”

Most of the said companies have limited sales, however, some like Golrang Motor Family and Persia Khodro have been importing vehicles for several years and have large distribution networks.

According to the guild, a ban was enforced on the unlicensed firms on December 8 “but the companies are still operating.”

Sadeqi’s comments come on the heels of new rules announced  by the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran on the import of cars.

The organization said on Nov. 28 that the Vehicle Identification Number or chassis number of imported cars must be declared before the car enters Iranian ports.