admin
10-18-2005, 06:39 PM
More than 15,000 luxury cars costing up to $145,000 have been imported into Iran since March despite huge taxes.
TEHRAN - Iranian drivers with a taste for luxury have spent 1.5 billion dollars over the past seven months on foreign cars, despite the huge duties slapped on vehicle imports.
According to the Javan daily newspaper, more than 15,000 such cars costing between 55,000 and 145,000 dollars have been brought into the country since March, when taxes on imported cars were slashed from 300 to 100 percent.
Despite the small boom in imports, most of the cars allowed into the country are far out of the reach of all but the uppermost tier of Iranian society - meaning the government has managed to maintain its longstanding protection of the national industry.
Iran expects to make about a million cars this year - ranging in price from around 6,600 to 20,000 dollars. The average Iranian's income is about 250 dollars per month.
TEHRAN - Iranian drivers with a taste for luxury have spent 1.5 billion dollars over the past seven months on foreign cars, despite the huge duties slapped on vehicle imports.
According to the Javan daily newspaper, more than 15,000 such cars costing between 55,000 and 145,000 dollars have been brought into the country since March, when taxes on imported cars were slashed from 300 to 100 percent.
Despite the small boom in imports, most of the cars allowed into the country are far out of the reach of all but the uppermost tier of Iranian society - meaning the government has managed to maintain its longstanding protection of the national industry.
Iran expects to make about a million cars this year - ranging in price from around 6,600 to 20,000 dollars. The average Iranian's income is about 250 dollars per month.