A member of the Iranian parliament criticized the high price of Chinese cars in the country saying Iranians pay 10 times more than its value.

Lotfollah Siahkali said: “The real price of a Chinese car is 6,000 dollars, but we sell for 60,000. Which governance rule does this follow? People are aware of the difference in car prices inside Iran and abroad. Why are we like this?"

This is not the first time the issue of importing cars or car parts from China has drawn criticism.

Last year, Mehdi Dadfar, the Secretary of the Car Importers Association, criticized the ban on car imports and market saturation by Chinese cars and parts.

“They did their best to prevent the import of famous brands and turned the country into one of the provinces of China,” he said.

It seems that China does not want to manufacture cars in Iran and prefers to export cars or parts.

For years critics and politicians have criticized the government-controlled auto industry and have referred to a “mafia” running the money-losing and inefficient sector.

Iran’s two main carmakers – Saipa and Iran Khodro – can only produce 1,400,000 units of light and heavy vehicles, mostly sub-standard older foreign models.

China has been the world’s largest car maker since 2008, with its output since 2009 higher than the US, European Union, and Japan combined. But the quality of Chinese cars is considered poor, with focus on low prices and high production numbers.