Filed under: Performance, Government/Legal, Porsche, Middle East, Luxury
Iran just became a bit less interesting for automotive enthusiasts with the announcement by Porsche that it will no longer do business there. The announcement was made Monday by United Against Nuclear Iran and New York Public Advocate Bill De Blasio.
"Consumers here have the power to force these companies out of Iran and tighten the screws on Tehran's regime," De Blasio said in the statement. "Our message is clear: you can do business with the Iranian regime or you can do business with the American consumer - but you can't do both."
This follows news that Hyundai will also stop selling or servicing its cars in Iran. But despite the ongoing international embargo against Iran, car shoppers there still have plenty manufacturers from which to choose. Fiat, Isuzu, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Suzuki, Toyota and Volvo are all still selling and/or servicing their models there. Sadly, for Iranians, nothing on par with Porsche.But then again, most Iranians aren't exactly flush with cash. A Bloomberg report from March says car sales in Iran were down 20 percent with prices up by about the same amount. For example, an imported Lexus RX350 sells for about $151,000 over there. Even in good times, that's a tough monthly payment for the average Iranian. In that same report, a Tehran car dealer said he hasn't replenished his stock of Porsche models for months because no one can afford them.
So either for political or economic reasons, we may soon see other carmakers pulling out of the Iranian car market. Check out the UANI press release below.
Continue reading Porsche officially stops doing business in Iran
Porsche officially stops doing business in Iran originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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