Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 8
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Two companies account for 70 percent of car imports to Iran.
Reza Shiva, Chairman of the Competition Council of Iran, said currently 7 companies in the country are importing cars, but 70 percent of car imports are being done by two companies, Iran's Fars news agency reported on Feb. 8.
The two companies are mainly importing Kia and Hyundai products, he noted.
However, the Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade has announced that some 35 companies are importing cars, he added.
The exact number and names of car importers should be announced publicly in order to prevent the monopoly in the car industry, he stressed.
In March 2014, Shiva said both car buyers and car manufacturers are unhappy with the current situation, a situation in which buyers are complaining about high prices and auto companies are saying they are suffering losses.
"If the monopolies are broken and the market becomes competitive, the auto manufacturers will surely be forced, by raising the quality of their cars, to compete with others, and thereby the price will be determined by the market," Shiva suggested.
Iran's car imports amounted to $1.625 billion in the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2014-Jan. 20, 2015), a 50-percent rise from $1.079 billion in the same period of time last year.
The country imported 79,210 cars in the ten-month period, showing 51 percent growth from 52,363 in the same period of time in previous year.