Iran's Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade recently released production figures for Iran's auto manufacturing industry, which show the country's 1% share in the global auto industry during 2012-14.
The Islamic Republic produced 1,000,000, 740,000 and 1,090,000 cars in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively. In other words, in the same years, Iran was the 18th, 20th and again the 18th largest car manufacturer worldwide, IRNA reports.
A year-on-year comparison of statistics shows that production declined by 39.3% in 2012. The downward trend persisted in 2013, as the number of units produced shrunk by 25.6%. In 2014, production took off once more, increasing by 46.8% compared with the previous year's corresponding figure.
The data released by the ministry indicate that in 2010, Iran produced 1,600,000 cars, up by 14.7% while in 2011, production experienced a 3.1% increase with 1,650,000 units year-on-year. For the two consecutive years, Iran ranked as the 13th largest auto manufacturer globally.
As western-imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear energy program intensified in 2013, car production and Iran's global ranking fell once again. The country manufactured only 730,000 units and dropped from 13 to 20 in global rankings.
Market Leaders
As a global market leader sharply accelerating its auto production, China, with a 23% share in the market in 2012, managed to increase its market share and grab 26% of the global market by 2014.
Between 2010 and 2014, 10 countries controlled nearly 80% of the world's auto market. The top 10 manufacturers were China, USA, Japan, Germany, South Korea, India, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Canada.
Topping the chart in 2010, China produced 18,260,000 units, the same number rose to 23,720,000 units in 2014 allowing for China to maintain its leading position.
By manufacturing 9,630,000 cars in 2010, Japan won 12% of the market share and was the second largest global manufacturer after China. However, in 2014, it produced 9,770,000 units and became the third largest carmaker after USA.
The US rose to second place in 2014 by producing 11,660,000 units of cars and winning a 13% market share.
The total number of cars produced in 2010 totaled 78,040,000 units and jumped to 90,130,000 units in 2014.
Iranian Goals
The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade plans to produce 1,350,000 cars in the current Iranian year (started March 20).
Its strategic plan for auto production indicates that the country must produce 1,750,000 units of light-weight vehicles—passenger cars and trucks—by March 20, 2018. During the same period, the ministry plans to produce 43,000 buses, minibuses and heavy-duty vehicles.
The ministry has set a goal of manufacturing 3,000,000 cars by the end of the sixth five-year economic development plan (2016-21), a third of which must be exported. The ministry has set a goal of producing 120,000 buses, minibuses and heavy-duty trucks during the same period, a quarter of which should be exported to regional markets.
The goals set are expected to be fulfilled in collaboration and under new contracts signed with Iran's old and new Chinese, Japanese and European auto partners, namely Renault, Peugeot, Volkswagen, Scania, Isuzu and Volvo.
