TEHRAN- Iran imported 23,000 cars worth 23.96 trillion rials (about $640 million) in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-July 22, 2017), registering 55 percent rise in number compared to the same period last year, Fars news agency reported.

The automobile industry, the biggest non-oil sector of the Iranian economy, constituting around 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), boomed over the decade ending in 2011 due to government support and the dearth of international competitors in the domestic market.     

Iran ranks 18th on the list of the world’s top auto manufacturers.  
   
Global automakers are in a race for new business in Iran following the nuclear accord between Iran and world powers, which ended economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.   
 
Iranian carmakers manufactured 1.35 million vehicles in the past Iranian calendar year (March 2016-March 2017), showing 38 percent growth compared to its preceding year.   
 
EF/MG