“Shoddy and expensive” Iranian-made cars face domestic boycott campaign

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Almost 20,000 people die on Iran's roads each year, and police say faulty  Iranian made cars are partly to blame
Almost 20,000 people die on Iran’s roads each year, and police say faulty Iranian made cars are partly to blame

by Ali Noorani

A campaign to boycott “substandard and expensive” Iranian-made cars has fired up social media in the Islamic republic, where its supporters have been accused of anti-revolutionary treason.

Iranians are turning to the Internet to vent long-simmering dissatisfaction with a domestic car industry dominated by producers Iran Khodro and Saipa, following years of sanctions that led to the exit of foreign makers.

Iran’s automakers “have put profit before their conscience”, wrote Vali, a user of the messaging service Telegram.

“The lives of many have been lost to technical faults.”

Almost 20,000 people die on Iran’s roads each year, and police say faulty cars are partly to blame.

Although domestic vehicles have features such as airbags and anti-lock brakes, “the safety of these cars is not satisfactory”, deputy police chief Eskandar Momeni said, quoted by state media.

“This is because of a lack of competition and supervision in domestic manufacturing,” he added.

– ‘Wrong and sinful’ –

Iranian officials argue that domestically produced cars are much cheaper than imported brands, and say the industry has created hundreds of thousands of jobs.

“Creating and supporting campaigns not to buy cars is treason to the national interests,” the trade, mining and industry minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh said recently, quoted by the Fars news agency.

“This campaign is wrong and sinful and anti-revolutionary, and it would inflict damage on the domestic economy,” he said, in remarks that sparked an online backlash.

“Imposing substandard, expensive and unexportable cars on the nation is treason to the people and Iran’s industry,” retorted Twitter user Hassan Mostafavi.

Several newspapers also reacted furiously to Nematzadeh’s comments, insisting that people have the right to choose not to buy Iranian cars.

“The minister, of course, did not issue a verdict for the automakers who with their low quality products endanger the lives of people,” the Ghanoon daily said.

President Hassan Rouhani even waded into the row to urge his minister to “treat the critics respectfully”.

Public pressure made Mehdi Jamali, the CEO of Saipa Corp, apologise to the public on television “for the low quality of our products in the past”.

“We have special plans to increase quality in production and support,” he said.

Most Iranian cars are based on foreign models which used to be brought in and assembled before sanctions were introduced.

Saipa’s Pride model, originally a Kia Motors vehicle, is the cheapest Iranian car with a price tag of 200 million rials ($6,680 at the official exchange rate) — about 22 times the monthly minimum wage.

Iran’s car production stood at 1.65 million vehicles in 2011 but after European and US sanctions hit there was a dramatic drop, to around 740,000 in 2013. Production rose to 1.2 million last year.

Almost all foreign automakers have left the country. France’s Renault continues to import parts and assemble cars in Tehran but at a fraction of former output.

 

Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot are among those now interested in gaining a foothold in Iran as sanctions are rolled back under a historic nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.

Iranian manufacturers hope that the return of foreign partners will help them to increase production and improve quality.

– ‘Economic collapse’ –

Customs duties of up to 100 percent for vehicle imports ensure that quality foreign cars are out of reach for most Iranians.

Sales of imported Chinese vehicles are rising, helped by price cuts after the July 14 nuclear agreement in Vienna, but even they are still much more expensive than the average Iran-made car.

Auto expert Saeed Laylaz believes that the stagnant economy is to blame for difficulties in people affording cars.

“This campaign is baseless. It’s merely a reflection of the collapse of Iran’s economy,” he told AFP.

People’s “hatred for automakers” results from a long period of monopoly in the 1980s and 90s that has since ended, Laylaz said.

Automaking is Iran’s number two industry after oil, accounting for up to three percent of gross domestic product and 12 percent of jobs, he noted.

While taxes stand at about 30 to 70 percent for domestically produced cars — which campaigners say is too high — Laylaz said Iranians enjoy lower prices at the pump than those in many countries.

“Because the government cannot tax the fuel, like in European countries, for political and social reasons they tax the cars upfront,” he said.

“In the West, cars are cheap but fuel is expensive, while it’s vice versa in Iran.”

FRANCE24/AFP

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21 responses to ““Shoddy and expensive” Iranian-made cars face domestic boycott campaign”

  1. nagy_michael2 Avatar
    nagy_michael2

    “This campaign is wrong and sinful and anti-revolutionary, and it would inflict damage on the domestic economy,” he said, in remarks that sparked an online backlash.

    so in order to keep people on a leash under the khomeini pathetic rules one must not say a damn word but it’s okay 20,000 died because of faulty and cheaply made cars?
    how come Iran then wants to perfect a weapon but not a car? if they don’t even care about their own people who the hell do they care about? that tells me to inject the Hezbollah resistance and how many have died because of Iran experiments with war against Israel and protecting Syria’s Assad. Yes i know the jihadists would have taken over but the jihadists wouldn’t been there if it wasn’t for Assad. who even let them out of jails in the thousands so he can create a superficial war to claim ISIS vs Assad Moderates.. what a web we weave when we practice to deceive. i hope the iranian people rise against these car manufacturer and force the gov’t to shut them down.

    1. The 2 suspects dressed in red in the photo are Italians not Iranians , Poor Enzo is rolling in his grave wondering how Ferraris are now made in Iran lol.

      1. nagy_michael2 Avatar
        nagy_michael2

        simple the iranians can copy anything.. lol somehow though their weapons are getting better than their cars.

        1. Hey Nagy hope you are doing well , I enjoy a lot of your comments lately You seem angry and indignant as any normal person would be with the madness we read about , the photo selected by the editor in this story clearly shows 2 wrecked Genuine Ferraris and not Iranian cars that the article refers to, I can tell you that Ferrari is very protective of their designs and prancing horse logos If you were a Miami vice fan you will recall the that the black Daytona was blown up in one episode and replaced with a white Testarossa , this was a result a settlement of a law suit filed by Ferrari against production company for use of a Ferrari replica with genune Ferrari emblems.

          1. Comparing a movie production to an Rticle on here. What an idiot!

            Yes I can see Ferrari filing a lawsuit but not against yalubnan but against your parents for having such an idiot!

          2. Hind Abyad Avatar

            Hes an expert on cars..you’re expertise is in the subject of shit, you’re all about shit infection.
            o man-o-war • 2 months ago
            “shite a very british and therefore great way of saying shit. shite sounds much more effective than shit” Not my fault your religion is named after shite

            0 man-o-war • 2 months ago
            Shitehead you know all about word play.
            And you and your shite kind accusing others of what you are guilty of, like religious bigotry and sectarianism, is typical shite hypocrisy and taqqiya.

            O man-o war do know EXACTLT how it’s spelt. Obviously you need educating. Stop going to those shite religious schools in dahiya ya ibn sharmouta

            O man-o-war • 2 months ago
            Shitehead stop your lies and hypocrisy. I’ve just educated how to spell shite and you still can’t admit you are wrong. “You know damn well how shit is spelled”
            Good try but next time do some research or is research forbidden in dahiya?

          3. 5thDrawer Avatar

            Everything in Iran is a ‘secret’ … the story editors can’t find any picture of a real Iranian car … might as well throw in a ‘Jordanian Jet’ pic … ;-)))))

          4. nagy_michael2 Avatar
            nagy_michael2

            Brother Geo i agree i sound angry and i have every right to be angry. let me tell you something my anger is beyond just these faulty cars and causing people to die. its the insanity of the Iranian, syrian and hezbollah and isis and al qaada, putin, North Korea, Dick the mother fucker Cheney, henry the dick kissinger, and i can go on more and more. i can be very angry at many lebanese leaders for dragging us in the mudd for years and did nothing to help their country but themselves. it disturbs me that many bright lebanese are dying for the sake of iran and the more i read about this war in Syria the more i get more disturbed to find out that Russia and iran and especially could even careless about Syria in particular. they could even careless about Assad. not that i am mad about that. but even the latest battle in Zabadani is to do some cleansing where Iran wants to make sure the supply lines to Hezbollah are not cutoff because the area is 17 miles from Damascus and Iran need to make sure no routes of weapons are cutoff to hezbollah. that’s why few of the top syrian intelligence had been killed because they knew about Iranian plot not to even seek peace between the warring parties but to divide and conquer. they want to remove the Sunnis population from Zabbadani in order to remove the blockade from in and around the town. it’s very disturbing that Iran is deciding the war and peace in Syria not Daesh. it’s very disturbing to know that Iran was the major supplier of weapons to Al Qaada in Iraq and even helped train them not only to fight Americans but also to kill other shiites to create sectarian warfare which it had succeeded. those idiots who are supporting Iran are going nowhere but hell. so are the ones who are supporting Daesh and saudi. the only country can break or make the peace is Iran in Iraq and Syria and they can tell Daesh here is your area and here is ours. Iran Goal to reach Tel Aviv and Jerusalem even it means killing their own people let alone our brothers the Shiites in lebanon and destroying lebanon on top of it if needed be. Did iran help in 2006 when israel bombed the living hell out of Lebanon? did syrian army even interfered.. hell no. so what are you Nassrallah, Qassem, Qouk and Aoun doing to Lebanon? where are you taking us? now they got daesh and Al Nusra knocking on our doors and they invited them to lebanon whether you like or it not. so now we have been facing hard choices choose between them or daesh.. i guess you know the answer to this one.. enough Bullshit and let’s fight for :Lebanon and nobody else’s.

          5. 5thDrawer Avatar

            You need to get a hell of a lot of people ‘on-side’ … the few decrying The Stink can’t do it.
            And as an ‘aside’ …
            I found out why a boy can’t be in school in Tripoli (or all Lebanon?) …. even if the Americans are punting 10 million into that ‘system’ to try and educate Lebanese. The poor and out of work ‘mothers’ can’t come up with the $500 USD to REGISTER HIM.

          6. Nagy I am Honored to be your brother, I cant argue with what you point out, misguided people in any sect, government or nationality have proven to do all that you describe above, I will tell you that you can vent on me anytime if it makes you feel better, I understand the frustration. consider your self fortunate that you are angry enough to reject being a follower or a supporter of all the suspects you mention.

      2. 5thDrawer Avatar

        I had enough thoughts on a car ‘brought in’ to the country when they named it ‘Killed In Action’. And although many say it’s quite good, the name makes me avoid it.

    2. You nailed it
      These guys don’t care about how many Iranians die and are still willing to kill more of them.
      They are still helping Assad even though over a quarter of a million have already been killed .
      You have to remember most big business in Iran is in the hands of the ayatollahs.
      An investigation by Reuters found the holdings of the largest Iranian organization ( Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam) to total about $95 billion . As of 2015, the organization is controlled by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei according to Reuters

    3. More
      Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam, or “Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam” was created from thousands of properties confiscated from Iranians

  2. Most Iranian’s can’t afford import cars because their leaders have made their money worthless on the international market. Look at their dollar value during the end of the Shah era compared to now.
    One day the blind sheep will wake up.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      Shhhh … next someone will mention Lebanese Lira … and you’ll be in for an ‘O’ lecture.

  3. At least they manufacture something considering all the sanctions, unlike Sunni countries that never manufactured anything besides camels.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      LOL … Uber-Modern Islam :-))))) But this is true … One point for trying.

    2. MekensehParty Avatar
      MekensehParty

      Or the Lebanese who only manufacture idiots

    3. LOL
      It looks like Hezbollah has converted you too.
      Even car manufacturing has become a sectarian issue
      I am not in any way or form trying to defend one sect or the other
      But have you checked out Indonesia and Malaysia .
      They seem to have several auto manufacturers
      They have a special going on right now
      “buy a car , ride a camel” for free

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar

        I tried smoking Camels once … had to walk a mile … 😉

        1. Liked them toasted
          Luckies were my brand for a while
          I don’t remember smoking Camels, but I ride them all the time when I travel to Egypt .
          I know RJR well and I know that the Camel brand ( their first ever packaged cigarette ) is what made the company famous.

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