Monthly inflation for vehicle purchases turned negative in Tir while car running costs kept rising

The latest transport inflation data from the Statistical Centre of Iran shows that the focus of inflation in the car market has shifted from buying a vehicle to the cost of using and maintaining one. According to a report in the newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad in its edition of Monday 3 August 2026 (12 Mordad 1405), monthly inflation for "purchase of vehicles", which had reached 27.9 percent in Ordibehesht, fell to 1.6 percent in Khordad and was recorded at negative 0.7 percent in Tir.

This came even though Iran Khodro raised its product prices in the final days of Khordad and Saipa and Pars Khodro received price increase approvals in Tir. Over the same month, monthly inflation for "use of personal transport vehicles" was 6.1 percent and for "public transport services" 4.8 percent. Monthly inflation for the transport group as a whole fell from 20.2 percent in Ordibehesht to 5.7 percent in Khordad and 3.1 percent in Tir.

The paper's analysis stresses that lower monthly inflation for vehicle purchases does not mean cars have become cheaper: year on year inflation for vehicle purchases stood at 117.8 percent in Tir and annual inflation at 72 percent. It cited a slump in free market transactions, the absorption of part of the factory price increase through a narrower market margin, and a lag in the index reflecting the increases as possible explanations.