DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Chevrolet, the U.S. car brand once advertised as the “Heartbeat of America,” won’t be rolling new models through the streets of Iran anytime soon despite the recent lifting of sanctions under a nuclear deal with world powers.
Models from the General Motors Co. division have been struck off a list of allowed brands for the Iranian market after a speech last week by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticizing American automobiles.
While GM itself said Wednesday it had no plans to enter Iran, the Islamic Republic remains a highly lucrative market of 80 million people largely untapped by Western companies. Already, the streets of Tehran are clogged with automobile traffic, much of it from its two manufacturers, though some are willing to pay the roughly 90-percent import duty for foreign brands.
As many as 200 Chevrolets worth $7 million were to be shipped to Iran from South Korea, according to a report carried by the semi-official Mehr news agency that later was republished by Iranian state television. It said Iran allowed in 24 Chevrolets in recent months.
But last week, as Khamenei gave a speech in Iran focusing on domestic industrial production, he criticized the American automobile industry, drawing chants of “Death to America!” for – surprisingly – his criticism of fuel consumption.