Car prices continue to rise; Saipa says it will start selling cars without lottery
After months of discussion over eliminating the lottery for car sales in Iran, the Saipa Automotive Company announced that it plans to offer the Shahin car for the first time in the "Super Sale" plan without lottery restrictions.
The plan reportedly begins at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 20, and will be active “until capacity is reached on the Saipa website.” A license is required to register.
The advertisement for this "extraordinary plan" states that the price of the white Falcon car is 344,580,000 Tomans and that the purchased car will be delivered within 90 days.
Reza Fatemi Amin, Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade, had previously announced that car sales by lottery would be eliminated from mid-2022, because, according to him, "car supply will be in line with demand."
Selling cars through lottery has long been implemented as a solution to reduce inflation in the car market. However, this scheme has not only failed to bring market prices into balance, but has also increased prices more steeply.
This change in procedure is set to be implemented at a time when the way Saipa sold its Shahin last year sparked protests from customers. As reported by ILNA in Ordibehesht 1400, a group of buyers gathered in front of the company to protest the company's failure to deliver on time, as well as technical problems such as the car "burning and shutting down," as well as the removal of some options, changing the requested car color, and changing the car's registration.
According to the protesting customers, the initial 50% price of the Shahin car was "80 million Tomans", while the price of the remaining 50% was announced as "187 million Tomans", and "many applicants were unable" to pay the remaining amount.
Based on the order of Ebrahim Raisi, the 13th Prime Minister, and the approval of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, car imports are set to be liberalized starting in June, but as Mehdi Dadfar, Secretary of the Car Importers Association, says, "those opposed to car imports have great power" and will dissuade the government from accepting this risk by raising the "issue of the system's general policies."
Dadfar previously claimed in an interview with Donyayeh Eqtesad newspaper that liberalizing car imports would cause prices in the market to plummet.
According to reports, car prices in Iran continue to rise, and the price of a Pride 111 has reached 199 million Tomans.
Source: Voice of America
