On Monday, May 6, the state-run Tejarat News reported a startling discovery in Iran’s automotive industry: over 26,500 vehicles hoarded in unofficial parking lots, shedding light on a shadowy practice impacting citizens’ access to cars. A senior official from regime’s State Security Forces admitted this staggering find, underscoring a growing dilemma for Iranian consumers awaiting registered vehicles, sometimes enduring years-long delays.
Hossein Rahimi, head of the economic security police in Tehran, disclosed that during inspections last year, a single unofficial parking lot yielded a cache of 12,500 vehicles. This revelation unveils one of the challenges plaguing domestic car manufacturing—a reliance on unofficial parking lots utilized as depots, with only a fraction of inspected lots deemed official.
Rahimi acknowledged that the car hoarding issue was prompted by a post on social media, uncovering not only 14,000 Nissan vans potentially subject to hoarding but also revealing the unofficial parking lot’s role as a storage facility. This revelation struck a chord as citizens, having already paid for their cars, remained deprived despite an apparent surplus.
October 26—Qazvin, northern #Iran
Defrauded customers of the state-backed Rezayat Khodro car manufacturer resume their protests in front of the offices of the justice ministry to reiterate their demands.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/03Vd7b2TZZ— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 26, 2023
Iran’s automotive market has become riddled with challenges. Government policies claimed to bolster domestic manufacturing, have inadvertently empowered manufacturers to dictate terms, neglecting product quality while exacerbating price hikes—a phenomenon some liken to a “car manufacturing mafia.”
Instances of citizen protests against delayed car deliveries and pricing discrepancies are not uncommon. For years, frustrated applicants for popular car models like Peugeot Pars, Tara, and Dena have taken to the streets, demanding accountability outside Tehran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade or various branches of the regime’s Judiciary across the country.
Protesters’ grievances included failures in registration processes, with chants demanding ministerial resignations echoing through the capital. The presence of state-affiliated forces outside the ministry only fueled public frustration, highlighting systemic issues plaguing Iran’s automotive sector.
November 18
Tehran, #Iran
"Iran Khodro" car company customers are holding a protest rally, demanding the company to deliver the cars they have paid for.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/lAKf6hjyxy— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 18, 2018
Last December, another alarming case emerged in Qazvin, where Mohammad Mehdi Alaee, the provincial governor, revealed a fraudulent scheme involving the “Rezayat Khodro-e Taravat-e Novin” car company. Despite amassing billions in capital from eager customers, the company delivered only a fraction of the promised cars, leaving thousands of consumers disillusioned.
Hossein Rajabi, Qazvin’s prosecutor, outlined the gravity of the situation, implicating the company’s owner in a massive fraud case spanning several years. Despite the Iranian government’s rhetoric against financial corruption, such cases underscore systemic and large-scale embezzlement, particularly within state and banking institutions.
The Iranian automotive industry is deeply intertwined with the country’s corrupt clerical regime. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has a dominant presence in the automotive sector, using it to line their own pockets at the expense of ordinary Iranians.
While thousands of Iranians face peril each year due to substandard domestic vehicles and inadequate road infrastructure, state figures, including parliament members, are under fire for indulging in luxury vehicle imports, draining national coffers. Concurrently, regime-linked enterprises stand accused of exacerbating the situation by stockpiling cars, driving up prices artificially, and flooding the market with inferior products.
State-affiliated car makers have implemented scams, collecting money from citizens for pre-sales of cars that are never delivered. This corruption and mismanagement in the automotive industry have also contributed to the high rate of road accidents and fatalities in Iran, with some models being dubbed “chariots of death”.
#Iran’s Armed Forces’ Attempt to Control #Automotive Industry, Leaked Documents Showhttps://t.co/LePtdrL72C
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 17, 2024
