TEHRAN – Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin met with Vice President for Science and Technology Sourena Sattari on Monday to discuss the knowledge-based development of the country’s automobile industry, IRNA reported.

In this meeting, which was hosted by the Industry Ministry, the officials analyzed the automotive industry from the perspective of a knowledge-based economy.

Designing and developing new platforms and producing new car series based on them using the capacities of the supply chain, was among the solutions proposed in this meeting for pushing the country’s auto industry towards development.

The officials also referred to the Industry Ministry’s new structure and the formation of the Transportation Industries Department within this structure with three separate offices including the auto industry, rail, and marine industries, and aviation industry.

Over the past few years, the Iranian automotive industry, as one of the country’s major industries, has been facing serious problems and challenges such as accumulated losses, low quality of products, and high debts to parts manufacturers and the supply chain sectors.

Back in December 2021, Fatemi-Amin said his ministry has prepared a nine-axis program for evolution in the automotive industry which will be unveiled soon.

The mentioned program includes all challenges and solutions in this industry, the minister noted.

“Car is one of the most political products and important issues in the country, which on the one hand is highly challenged and on the other hand has various capacities”, the official stated.

Pricing should be such that domestic manufacturing has an advantage, the minister further reiterated.

Based on the latest data released by the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry, car manufacturing in Iran rose 4.7 percent during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-November 21, 2021), as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Iranian carmakers manufactured 651,408 vehicles in the eight-month period of this year, while the figure was 622,144 in the same time span of the previous year.

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Photo: Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin (L) and Vice President for Science and Technology Sourena Sattari