Member of Majlis Investigation Committee said that he is ready to debate with those officials of car industry who claim that a domestic car design plan is not economically feasible. Hamid Reza Katouziyan noted that Iran Khodro Company can produce up to 1.5 million cars per year given current facilities and capacities of the company, adding, "Saipa and other carmakers can also manufacture two million automobiles per year."

The MP, who is also deputy chairman of Majlis Industries and Mines Commission, stipulated that given domestic capacity for car manufacture, it would be ridiculous for Iran to be still assembling cars after doing that for 40 years. Katouziyan further noted that motor traffic in Tehran should not be used as a guide when assessing domestic automobile industry because "at present, ratio of cars to population in Iran is even less than such countries as Turkey and Malaysia".

Iran’s car market has been conquered by French, South Korean and Italian companies, adding, "Introduction of Peugeot sedans into the Iranian market followed spending a lot of money and signing major contracts." Iran’s automobile market has been handed over to foreign firms without taking any major privilege from those companies and described it as to be bizarre according to political as well as international economic common sense.

"When we told foreign automakers during past years that we wanted to make cars ourselves, they told us that we will be only given car parts to assemble them in the country and, in this way, we were forced to assemble cars. Some of the former directors of Iran Khodro Company who were not even theorists, encouraged car assembly in the country with the result being the current situation of automobile industry."

The lawmaker then explained about the new course taken by the Iranian car industry under former director of Iran Khodro Company and said, "We must answer the question that when Iranian experts are capable of indigenizing nuclear technology despite all intricacies and technological issues, how come that they cannot design a simple car?"

Katouziyan said Samand sedans were the first experience of Iranian carmakers with regard to manufacturing a national vehicle and though it was not free from errors, its quality was superior to Peugeot 405 and was offered at the same price.

The Tehran MP noted that when Gharavi was managing director of Iran Khodro Company, the company launched a project for manufacturing a new version of Paykan sedans to replace old makes of that car.

When the new managing director took over, the project was mothballed and the research and development center that was established at a high cost for the said purpose is not being used by domestic carmakers.

The Member of Parliament added that Iran Khodro can come up with a new national brand with or without Peugeot. "If Peugeot Company tried to prevent Iran Khodro, we can limit its presence in the Iranian market. A carmaker, which after 40 years of production record, is still conducting the last link in the long chain of car manufacture and cannot design a car, is better to be shut down," he noted.

Referring to establishment of an automobile research center in Iran as well as establishment of automobile research and design centers at automobile manufacturing companies as well as teaching car design at universities, the lawmaker stated that if "we are not supposed to design cars, what is the goal of spending all that money as well as research and teaching activities."

Katouziyan pointed out that car design has not been imposed on Iran Khodro as a policy, but is the company’s mission. "Otherwise, CBU (completely built up) car imports would be much more economical," he said.

Deputy chairman of Majlis Industries and Mines Commission rejected any policy that would close Iran’s market to foreign carmakers, saying, "We can choose strategic partners for designing cars or work on a common platform with such countries as Malaysia which have already worked with such top carmakers as Mitsubishi."