Hamid Reza Katouziyan, Deputy Chairman of Majlis Industries and Mines Commission

The path to industrial independence and development necessitates a stride toward becoming an automobile manufacturing country.

That is the belief of Deputy Chairman of Majlis Industries and Mines Commission, Hamid Reza Katouziyan. Iran has achieved very good capacities with regard to car manufacture and can produce high-quality products capable of competing with foreign counterparts. “However, a certain current is still pressuring us to continue car assembly.”

The MP from Tehran opined that since the beginning of car manufacture in Iran, it was supposed to be dominated by foreigners, adding, “The industry was meant to be monopolized by French companies and this has happened in reality.” At present, France and South Korea dominate Iran’s automobile manufacture industry and the volume of Iran’s trade with France in this field is much higher that what it should be which is not useful for Iran.

Iran has gone a long way in car manufacture and is very good at car assembly. We need a major breakthrough with regard to automobile industry to be able to conduct more advanced stages such as design and manufacture. Fortunately, we know many things about car design. We are not against presence of foreign companies in Iran, but that partnership should be well-defined and meaningful to safeguard independence of our country and its car industry. Therefore, remaining a car assembly center is very dangerous for our country. We must move toward industrial independence and this is not compatible with car assembly. At the same time, our country is capable of car design. Therefore, we must tap those capacities and we must not play with people who have worked in the field and have become experienced experts. We must not change them in such a way as to render them useless.

Referring to monopolization of car market in Iran by one or two countries, he added, “France is actively present in Iran’s car industry. One day, we assembled Talbot Company’s cars and produced Paykan. Some 98 percent of our manufacture vehicles were Paykan. But we are turning into a country where most cars are French. Monopolization means turning into a country ready to accept monopolies and this is not a good practice because advanced countries of the world are not ready to accept monopolization, but unfortunately, our country’s authorities have easily acceded to it and Iran has become a monopolized country in the field of car manufacture, which is very dangerous.”

“We have seen France’s behavior with regard to Iran’s nuclear technology. Therefore, for a country which has achieved a certain level of capability, it is not acceptable to let our market be totally dominated by a foreign country which is hostile toward us in other fields” he opined.

The official stated that car manufacture in Iran is not going through a correct course and that the Ministry of Industries and Mines is obliged to take the industry out of its current situation. “If they pursued competition and welfare in the country, they should have fostered industrial development and prevented monopolization of domestic markets. If the government and Ministry of Industries and mines remain indifferent to this issue, we, as Majlis deputies, cannot remain indifferent and we will use our legal capacities as people’s representatives and deputies who are duty-bound to protect people’s rights as well as Iran’s interests. Time is passing rapidly and we are not left with much opportunity. All we have heard thus far has not gone beyond sloganeering. Words are beautiful and attractive, but in practice, we don’t see a serious step with regard to car manufacture,” he said.