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‘Golden age of Chinese cars over in Iran’

Reports say Iranians are ditching Chinese cars in anticipation of the return of major European brands over the next months.

Iran’s media are reporting that Chinese cars have already lost their allure in light of the prospects for the return of major European brands to the country.

The latest market trend, as reported by Mehr News Agency, shows the sales of Chinese cars have plunged in Iran with consumers anticipating that better quality products by European brands will eventually emerge in shops across the country within the next months.

“Most of the clients who were planning to buy Chinese cars have abandoned their plans and are waiting to see at what rates the European cars will be offered to the Iranian market and whether they can afford them,” wrote Mehr. 

The report said that Chinese cars are still in a better position over their European rivals in terms of prices. However, the dominant mentality of Iranian consumers is that Chinese products are low quality, it added. 

Some believe that you will be the first and the last owner of a Chinese car, said the report. This is while even the old models of European manufacturers are more popular to the Iranians, it emphasized.

The growing unpopularity of Chinese cars has led dealers to offer major discounts of as high as 20 percent. 

This, Mehr report added, is a further sign that the Chinese auto brands have already felt the pain of an impending rivalry with European brands. 

Last week, Iran’s ISNA News Agency reported that a recent surge in the enthusiasm of European automakers to get a foothold in the Iranian market is already pushing Chinese brands to leave.

ISNA quoted officials at China’s leading automaker Chery as saying that the company’s share of the Iranian market has decreased over the past year.

They said Chery was previously warmly welcomed in Iran, but there has been a decline in the interest of Iranians toward the company’s products in light of the progress in talks over the country’s nuclear energy program and the prospects for the return of European car majors.

Iran and the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – announced at the end of marathon top-level talks on July 14 that they had agreed on certain restrictions over the Iranian nuclear energy activities in return for the removal of certain economic sanctions against the country.

A key class of sanctions that will be removed will be those that ban foreign investments in the country’s industries including the auto industry.

Several top European auto brands have ever since voiced readiness to venture into the Iranian auto market. They include Renault and Peugeot from France as well as Volkswagen from Germany.


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