BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 12. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has allocated $110 million for the import of passenger cars into the country in the past week, head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI), Mehdi Zeighami said, Trend reports.
Zeighami said that the mentioned funds have been transferred to the companies that import passenger cars.
The Central Bank of Iran allocates foreign currency needed for car imports, as they are expensive. The car importers pay back the money to the Central Bank of Iran in rials after selling the cars.
He also said that it is planned to import 40,000 more passenger cars by the end of the current Iranian year (March 19, 2024), if the CBI can provide enough foreign currency.
However, the official noted that Iran has the capacity to produce 1.5 million passenger cars per year, and that spending $2-$3 billion on car imports is not in the country’s interest.
Iran imported 3,488 cars worth $69.6 million during the first 8 months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through November 21, 2023), which is an increase of 12 times in value and 18 times in number compared to the same period last year.
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