AMICO Singled Out for Price Gauging
EghtesadOnline: AMICO Industrial Group, a domestic commercial vehicle producer, has started presales of a new pickup truck ‘Huangha N1’.
The vehicle is significantly overpriced. Huangha N1 has a price tag of 1.33 billion rials ($35,000). This is while the model sells for $13,650 in China, local automotive website Asbe Bokhar reported.
Price gauging is a common practice in Iran’s auto industry. However, AMICO has taken the game to a much higher and repulsive level by selling a locally-produced vehicle for three times over and above the international price.
AMICO is offering a 7% discount to those who pay the full price in advance. The model is also offered through an installment sales scheme. The company has announced that the vehicle will be delivered after five months, according to Financial Tribune.
Assembled by Aras Khodro, a subsidiary of AMICO, Huangha is equipped with a Mitsubishi-derived 2.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with 140hp and has a 5-speed manual transmission.
The model is much more expensive than other pickups offered in Iran. Bahman Group’s Capra 2 pickup truck, which comes with a Mitsubishi-based 2.4-liter gasoline engine, is sold for 723 million rials ($19,000). Considering AMICO’s uncompetitive pricing system, the model is likely to fail in the market.