TEHRAN- Iranian carmakers manufactured 68,074 vehicles in the first month of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-April 22) with 20 percent rise compared to the same month in the previous year, IRIB reported on Sunday.

Iran manufactured 1.3 million of cars in the past calendar year (ended on March 20, 2017) and targets to push the figure up to 1.5 million cars by the end of this year, Mehr news agency reported on April 7, quoting Deputy Industry Minister Mansour Moazzami.

Producing more than one million of automobiles in 2016, Iran could rank first among the world countries regarding the growth in its car production, according to the report released by Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, commonly abbreviated OICA, (translated in English as the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers) in early March 2017.

Iran managed to manufacture 1,164,710 automobiles in the said time, registering an 18.6 percent increase in number compared to the previous year, the report said. The growth percentage puts the country at the top of car manufacturers in 2016.

From the said 1,164,710 manufactured automobiles in Iran, 1,074,000 ones belong to the cars and 90,710 ones goes to the commercial vehicles.

MA/MG