Simultaneous Increase in Car Imports and Production in Iran Last Year

While Iranian customs statistics indicate a significant increase in car and auto parts imports into the country, car production has also experienced a growth of over 10 percent in recent months. According to the Mehr News Agency on Tuesday, September 29, citing the Iranian Production and Trade Information Network (Shata), 486,261 vehicles of various types were produced from the beginning of this year until the end of August. This figure represents a 10.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Of this production total, 448,522 were passenger cars, with the remainder being pickups, trucks, buses, minibuses, and others. Meanwhile, bus production in Iran has seen the highest growth rate this year at over 19 percent. In August alone, 117,339 vehicles were produced, marking a 39.4 percent increase compared to August of the previous year. At the same time, the Iranian Trade Development Organization reported in its monthly report that Iran has increased car imports by 63 percent in the first five months of this year, reaching $687 million. Iran has also increased imports of auto parts by 29 percent, totaling $680 million over the same five months. Total imports from April to the end of August amounted to $16.709 billion. Thus, passenger car imports and their parts accounted for more than eight percent of Iran's total imports during this period. Before the sanctions, car production in Iran was around 1.6 million units per year, but this figure dropped to one-third in 2013. Car production rebounded in 2014 following the lifting of some sanctions, but last year, due to recession, production fell by over 13 percent to about 976,000 units, which was 400,000 units below the government's target for that year. The Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade has set a target of producing 1.35 million vehicles this year. However, the five-month statistics indicate that Iran is significantly behind its targets for this year.