September 23, 2022
After four years of an official ban on all car imports, the Raisi Administration has now authorized the import of cheaper automobiles, while keeping a ban on luxury models, which have traditionally been the big imports and the imports that have incensed many Iranians.
The total import ban was imposed in 2018 on the orders of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi in response to complaints from Iranian automakers that the imports were hurting their ability to produce and sell cars and make Iran less dependent on the outside world—a major issue with Khamenehi.
Critics said the import ban just allowed domestic carmakers to produce shoddy goods because they need not worry about any foreign competition.
The official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said in a report August 27 that the new customs rule, approved in the cabinet August 17, would allow importers to bring in complete cars worth under 20,000 euros, with a focus on cars selling for less than 10,000 euros, for selling to customers on the Iran Mercantile Exchange. The euro is now worth almost exactly $1.
Total annual car imports are capped at 1 billion euros a year, it added.
That would allow a maximum of 100,000 cars a year, if all of them were priced at 10,000 euros.
However, the ministry said it will impose strict standards for imports, including the need for setting up a sufficient number of dealerships and a smooth supply of parts into the market. Those rules could so onerous as to severely limit the scale of imports. The ministry did not say when it would issue its regulations.