TEHRAN- The latest data released by Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry show that manufacturing of passenger cars has risen 5.7 percent in Iran during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

The ministry’s data put the five-month passenger cars output at 369,600.

During the said five-month period 40,324 vans were manufactured, indicating 48.8 percent rise year on year.

As reported, manufacturing of bus, minibus and van rose 147.1 percent to stand at 1,885 in the first five months of the present year.

Iran’s major carmakers had manufactured 867,363 vehicles in the previous Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20), which was 3.7 percent less than the figure of the preceding year, the data released by the Codal website showed.

According to Codal data, during the previous year, Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) manufactured 451,121 vehicles, which was six percent less than the output in the Iranian calendar year 1399.

SAIPA manufactured 304,533 vehicles in the mentioned year, registering a 3.4 percent decline in comparison to the figure for the preceding year. And Pars Khodro manufactured 109,838 vehicles in the past year, showing a 6.4-percent rise from the output of its previous year.

Iran has been ranked the world’s 19th biggest automaker in 2021, according to the report released by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA).

Based on the OICA data, Iranian automakers produced 894,298 vehicles in 2021 to register a two-percent increase compared to 2020.

Iran's car production in 2021 was higher than many industrialized countries such as Italy with 795,000 units, South Africa with 499,000 units, Poland with 439,000 units, Portugal with 289,000 units, Taiwan with 265,000 units, Belgium with 261,000 units, Austria with 136,000 units, Finland with 93,000 units and Egypt with 23,000 units.

China was by far the largest automaker in the world in 2021 followed by the United States.

Iran plans to reform its auto industry in order to increase both the production and quality of its products.

Back in January, Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin said the country’s automotive industry was going to undergo a complete reform after the implementation of his ministry’s two-year evolution program.

Stating that nine transformation projects have been prepared for the automobile industry, Fatemi-Amin said: "The general plan is that in [the Iranian calendar year] 1401 (started on March 21) the structure of the automobile industry and the relations between parts manufacturers and automakers will be reformed and the overall promised production target will be achieved in [the Iranian calendar year] 1404 (begins in March 2025)."

The minister considered the current situation of the automotive industry very problematic and added: "We have done a lot of work in the automotive industry and we have had good successes and progress, but the result has not been satisfactory for the general public and the customers."

Referring to the complexities of the automotive industry, he noted: “A car has more than 2,000 parts and every day 4,000 cars are produced in the country; We do not have any other industries with such managerial, economic and technological complexities.”

Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry’s programs for the current Iranian calendar year show that the manufacturing of 1.2 million cars has been put on the agenda.

MA/MA