Iran has now banned the import of Chevrolet cars, a week after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed imports of U.S. cars and asked the government to promote domestic production.
The Mehr news agency cited an unnamed official in the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade as stating on Tuesday that an order of 200 Chevrolet automobiles, worth $7 million, need to be cancelled. Note that Chevrolets are created by General Motors.
He stated the delivery were going to come from South Korea, but did not provide details of the seller.
Prior to its Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran was a growing market for U.S.-manufactured automobiles and trucks, however a mix of U.S. sanctions disallowing most trade as well as Iran’s own restrictions decreased sales.
After the nuclear offer which Iran reached with the U.S. and other world powers in 2015, and the lifting of many international sanctions in January, Iran allowed a few Chevrolet models for import.
The list, released on the main website of the industry ministry, includes only a handful of foreign carmakers such as BMW, Hyundai, and Porsche. Chevrolet has now been eliminated from the list.
Last week, Khamenei knocked the import of foreign items consisting of U.S. automobiles and stated Iranian consumers need to support domestic producers.
“Even the Americans are not interested in buying such cars because of their weight and high fuel consumption,” Khamenei was quoted by his main site as informing numerous workers in Tehran.
“Why should we import the cars from a bankrupt American factory? This is very odd.”
On Monday, Khamenei criticized rich youths who drove expensive vehicles on the streets of Tehran, calling them an outcome of identity crises and bad education.
Foreign-made automobiles are readily available in Iran, but high import tariffs put them out of reach of a lot of purchasers. Imports are in some cases restricted if an automobile is considered “luxury” or “unsafe” by the government.
