Mohammad Reza Najafi Manesh, a board member of the Association of Auto Parts Manufacturers and a member of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, stated regarding the impact of the new U.S. sanctions against Iranian companies, especially Iran Khodro and Saipa, on the car market and the auto parts industry: This is not the first time that Iran's automotive industry has been sanctioned. During the Obama administration, the entire Iranian automotive industry was sanctioned, but with planning, we managed to overcome these sanctions.
Impact of Sanctions on Car Production
Najafi Manesh continued: The problem is that after a while, we forget domestic production and turn to foreign sources. The interesting point about the new sanctions is that they have targeted car production in Iran, not imports or even car consumption. Instead of strengthening domestic manufacturing and cars, we have only reinforced imports and even turned to importing used cars.
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He added: The reason is that they are enemies of production, not enemies of cars. They say if you want cars, import them, but just do not produce.
Liquidity and Car Prices
In response to the question of why the automotive industry should be supported, Najafi Manesh said: Prices are neither in the hands of Iran Khodro nor in the hands of parts manufacturers; they are solely in the hands of government policies, the Central Bank, and the Parliament, which continuously increase liquidity. During Mr. Ahmadinejad's time, liquidity was 63 trillion tomans, and at the beginning of Mr. Rouhani's government, it reached 450 trillion, and at the beginning of Mr. Raisi's government, it reached 4 trillion. Now, liquidity has surpassed 18 trillion and is expected to reach 24 trillion by the end of the year.
He emphasized that the increase in liquidity has a direct relationship with prices and added: When liquidity increases but the volume of goods does not, prices go up. This issue is not just about cars and can be observed in all goods and assets around us.
Najafi Manesh also referred to the government's involvement in the automotive industry and said: The problem with the quality of car parts stems from the state ownership of the automotive industry. The government should relinquish management of the automotive industry and allow the private sector to do its job.
Regarding the impact of rising dollar rates and raw materials on car prices, he said: Prices depend on the dollar rate and raw materials, and unfortunately, the price of raw materials has increased several times in some cases. This increase in raw material prices affects prices, and if we revert to the prices of raw materials from five years ago, car prices would also return to what they were at that time.
Najafi Manesh concluded by stating: Pricing has nothing to do with automakers and is a result of government economic policies. So far, with price controls on cars, we have harmed and caused losses to automakers.
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