TEHRAN – Iranian carmakers managed to produce about 537,000 vehicles in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), an official with the country’s Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry said.

Abdollah Tavakoli Lahijani, the director general of the Iranian Industry Ministry’s Auto Industry Office, said that the production of passenger cars reached 440,000 in the mentioned five months registering a 34 percent increase compared to the previous year’s same period.

In the mentioned period, 62,000 trucks were produced in the country, indicating a 52 percent growth compared to the same period last year. Also, in the first five months of this year, about 1,370 vans were produced, which shows a 70 percent growth compared to last year, according to Tavakoli.

Iranian carmakers also managed to produce about 16,600 heavy vehicles in the said five months also registering a 69 percent growth, year on year.

The official noted that the production by private auto-making companies in the country increased by 78 percent in the first five months of the current year.

“In the first five months of this year, more than 112,000 cars were produced by the private sector, which shows an increase of about 78 percent compared to the 63,000 cars in the same period last year,” he said.

According to Tavakoli Lahijani, the private sector accounted for 21 percent of the country’s total car production in the mentioned period.

Car manufacturing in Iran increased by 39 percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20), as the Iranian carmakers manufactured 1,347,394 vehicles in the mentioned year.

In the past year, 1,182,078 passenger cars were manufactured in the country, registering a 35-percent rise year on year.

Vans accounted for the lion’s share of the production in the past year, as 125,507 vans were manufactured, with a 56-percent growth.

EF/MA