TEHRAN – Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin has announced a decision for lifting the ban on car imports as of late May, IRNA reported on Sunday.

Fatemi-Amin has mentioned the imbalance between supply and demand and the improvement of the country’s economic conditions with regard to foreign currency revenues as the main reasons for the mentioned decision.

According to the minister, Iranian automakers are currently producing nearly one million cars annually, while the domestic demand for automobiles is over 1.5 million, so since the domestic manufacturers are not able to meet the market’s demand the government has decided to allow imports.

The official noted that another reason for the mentioned decision has been the fact that the country is currently in a better position in terms of foreign currency resources compared to the three years ago when car imports were banned.

“In the Iranian calendar year 1397 (started in March 2018), oil sales fell due to sanctions, and car imports were banned to manage foreign currency spendings,” Fatemi-Amin explained.

According to the minister, Iran is not facing those restrictions anymore since the country’s non-oil trade has increased significantly.

The foreign currency incomes have been following an upward trend this year, with non-oil exports reaching more than $47 billion, he stressed, adding: “So, next year we will not have to worry about the forex balance, and this is another reason why the import ban is not going to be extended.”

“With the lifting of the import ban, up to 100,000 and maybe more, cars will be imported into the country, and the imports and increase in production will lead to a balance in the market,” Fatemi-Amin said.

According to the data released by the Codal website, three major Iranian carmakers, namely Iran Khodro Company (IKCO), SAIPA Group, and Pars Khodro, manufactured 760,527 vehicles during the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2021-January 20, 2022).

According to the data, the production by the mentioned companies rose just 4.1 percent compared to the previous year’s same 10 months in which the output stood at 730,477.

EF/MA