Ahmadinejad's Luxury Car Legacy

An Iranian citizen journalist, who writes under a pseudonym to protect her identity, wrote the following article on the ground inside Iran.

There are two streets in central Tehran named after famous ayatollahs assassinated after the Islamic Revolution of 1979: Mohammad Beheshti and Morteza Motahari. Over the past six years, these streets have gradually become the center for luxury car dealerships in the Iranian capital.

Starting in around 2010, the number of car dealerships along these avenues has increased noticeably. The dealerships offer the latest Porsches, Maseratis, BMWs, Mercedes — you name it. They all come with the most up-to-date options and extras. The average price for these cars ranges from $130,000 to close to $500,000.

In spring 2015, at a meeting with police commanders, Ayatollah Khamenei spoke out against “youths drunk with the pride of wealth” who “roam the streets in expensive automobiles" and contribute to “psychological insecurity in society.” But despite this, the import of foreign luxury cars into Iran has increased. 

This taste for luxury cars started under former President Ahmadinejad. Although there have been attempts in recent years to slow the trend, there is no indication that these efforts have been effective.

Ahmadinejad began his presidency with promises to improve the lot of the “deprived” and the “downtrodden” — but he ended up boosting class inequality by allowing the imports of luxury cars just when inflation and poverty started to hit ordinary people hard. Poor and middle-class Iranians watched as German and Italian brand-name cars flooded into the city streets. They have been the ones to suffer from the “psychological insecurity” to which the supreme leader referred.

Prior to 2010, the number of expensive luxury cars in Iran was so low that people would stop and stare them as they traveled down the street. Ahmadinejad’s government issued import permits to various groups of people, from veterans over 70 to national sports champions. At the same time, a number of private companies, including Mo’in Motor, which represents Porsche in Iran, started importing luxury cars.

According to statistics published by Iran’s Customs Bureau, in the Iranian year 1388 (March 21, 2009-March 20, 2010) 31,312 automobiles with an engine capacity of over 2,500 cc were imported into the country. The number of cars imported in the following years were 23,763 (1389/2011), 18,604 (1390/2012), 16,239 (1391/2013) and 4,015 (1392/2014).

According to the Customs Bureau chief Masoud Karbasian, the average annual imports of luxury cars during the presidency of Ahmadinejad was worth around $600 million. In the Iranian year 1391 (2013), 563 Porsches valued at more than $49.8 million were imported.

The official news agency Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) reports that in 1392 (March 21, 2013-March 20, 2014), 151 Porsche automobiles valued at $14 million were imported. During the same year the total value of Iranian-made car exports was $70 million.

In recent years, the government of President Rouhani has taken steps to prevent the import of luxury cars by revoking special permits to veterans and others handed out by Ahmadinejad’s administration. In 2015, it also imposed a blanket ban on the import of sedans with an engine capacity of over 2,500 cc. Despite this, the number of auto dealerships offering luxury cars has been increasing almost day by day, and they appear to be doing a brisk business. Iran does not have brand-specific auto shows, but anyone visiting the streets named after Mohammad Beheshti  and Morteza Motahari will find permanent auto exhibitions of all the most famous brands from around the world.

Now the results of Ahmadinejad’s promises to help the downtrodden are plain to see. Luxury cars are everywhere on Tehran’s streets, each one of them costing more than the total salary of a government employee for several years. And it does not appear that the numbers are coming down, regardless of new regulations issued by the government or the pronouncements of the supreme leader.

Nilufar Salehi, Citizen journalist, Karaj