TEHRAN- Iran ranked 13th in the world sales of passenger cars, hitting the sale of 1,055,400 cars in 2015, according to a recent report of the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.

According to the report, the amount of passenger cars sold in Iran in 2015 accounted for 1.59 percent of the world’s total sale.

The figures show a 4.6 percent decrease in the sale of passenger cars compared to the 2014 number which stood at 1,106,700.

Based on the report, china was the largest market of passenger cars in 2015 while the United States and Japan took the second and third positions.

The total amount of sold passenger cars in 2015 was estimated at 66.311 million cars while the markets experienced a smaller sale, at around 65.417 million in 2014.

Iran is looking for the way of attracting more investment to its biggest non-oil sector – auto industry following the softening the international pressure on the country.

The spokesman of Iran’s Auto Policy-Making Council, a regulatory body under Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade, said in January that companies from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Turkey will take part in Iran’s auto market.

The official added that companies from Japan and Italy might have a more pronounced role to play in the future market.

European carmakers are in a race for fresh inroads into the country of 80 million people, which is being promoted as the region’s biggest automotive market.

The automobile industry accounts for nearly 10 percent of Iran’s gross domestic product. Latest data show that Iran ranks 18th on the list of the world’s top auto manufacturers.

SJ/MA/