Hossein Maghiseh, an automotive industry expert, criticized the current policies in this industry, estimating the losses of Iranian automakers at around 600 million tomans for each car. He stated that price controls and high tariffs are among the most significant challenges in this area and that policies need to be revised.
Challenges in the Automotive Industry
Maghiseh emphasized that the automotive industry will only emerge from monopoly when the "pliers" of tariffs and price controls are removed. He referred to tariffs of 100 to 160 percent on car imports and added: "These tariffs do not represent real support for domestic producers and may result in part of the revenue being used to cover the government's budget deficit." According to him, car prices should be determined based on people's purchasing power, not on the economic realities of production.
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Accumulated Losses and Rent
Maghiseh, referring to the registration of about 2.4 million people in a car sales scheme, estimated that around 10 trillion tomans of rent has arisen from the price difference between factory and market. He assessed this situation as a sign of weakness in economic governance and stated: "Iran Khodro and Saipa are currently incurring an average loss of about 600 million tomans for each product produced." He also reviewed the financial statements of Iran Khodro from 2018 to the end of 2025, estimating the total sales value of the company at around 14 billion dollars and the accumulated losses during this period at about 5 billion dollars.
Need for Transparency in Data
This automotive industry expert also emphasized the need for transparency in fuel consumption data and called for the publication of information regarding fuel consumption in provinces, refinery production, and fuel distribution destinations. He stressed that figures related to fuel consumption and smuggling should not be turned into headlines without examination and expert documentation, and the entire issue of the country's fuel consumption should not be reduced to the performance of domestic automakers.
Government and Necessary Reforms
Maghiseh ultimately emphasized that reforming the automotive industry is not possible without simultaneously revising currency, tariff, pricing, energy, fuel, tax policies, and overall quality of economic governance. He introduced the elimination of price controls alongside reasonable tariffs as solutions for creating a competitive environment in the automotive industry.
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