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Iran president orders launch of home-made budget car

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi is seen in this March 2, 2022 photo published by his office while visiting and assembly line run by Iran’s largest automotive company IKCO near the capital Tehran.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has ordered the launch of at least one home-made budget car model as part of his strategies to reform the domestic car manufacturing sector in Iran.    

Raeisi issued the order on Wednesday after he visited car yards and assembly lines run by Iran’s largest automotive company IKCO near the capital Tehran.

The president issued eight major directives meant to create reforms in the Iranian automotive industry, including the need for more investment and technology transfer from Iranian defense, space and high-tech industries to boost the quality of cars manufactured inside the country.

The directives included a target for increasing domestic car output in Iran by 50% in the year to March 2023.

Raeisi also ordered the discontinuation of at least three old car models over the same period as he insisted Iranian carmakers should replace them with three new models to respond to the demand in the market for reliable cars.

The strategies are meant to allay a growing discontent about the quality of cars inside Iran. They come less than two months after the Iranian police said that airbags on all of nearly 60 cars involved in a chain accident in southwestern Iran had failed to function properly.

The incident, which killed five and wounded 41 people, also sparked criticism from the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollh Seyyed Ali Khamenei who said in a speech on January 30 that domestic car models had poor quality.  

Iran has reported slight increases in domestic car output in recent years despite problems faced by automotive companies in accessing parts and technologies from abroad because of American sanctions.


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