Iranian automakers and their foreign partners produced 545,936 vehicles in the first five months of the country’s fiscal year starting in March, up 21.8% from year-ago, the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade says.
Iran Khodro and SAIPA dominated the local market with a combined 91% share of local output, according to ministry statistics cited by the English-language Financial Tribune.
Iran Khodro manufactured 273,441 vehicles, a 16.8% year-on-year increase and good for 50% of Iranian production. Of that total, 107,283 units were Peugeot 405 models. The sedan is notorious for poor fuel economy and often has been singled out for poor quality by Iran Standard and Quality Inspection, a private company that conducts monthly quality and safety tests on behalf of the Ministry of Industries, the newspaper says.
Peugeot 405 builds were down 5.5% in the 5-month period compared with like-2016.
The 405 was followed by the Peugeot 206 with 69,357 assemblies, followed by the locally designed IKCO Samand (40,053) and Renault Logan, better known locally as the L90 (18,964).
SAIPA, with a 41% share of the market, produced 223,392 units from March through July, up 24.1% year-over-year. Two inexpensive cars that typically get low quality ratings from ISQI, the Pride and the Tiba, accounted for 26% and 25% of production, respectively.
Tiba output jumped 61% while Pride builds declined 7% in the 5-month period.
The third best-selling vehicle made by SAIPA is the Kia Cerato, of which 10,392 units were produced. The car is imported from South Korea in addition to being built locally.
According to SAIPA President and CEO Mahdi Jamali, the company is negotiating with the South Korean automaker to build a newer version of the Cerato and other Kia models in Iran.
Iran’s third-largest automaker is Pars Khodro, which assembles a number of cars already manufactured by IKCO and SAIPA. The company produced 88,708 units during the 5-month period, up 29.3% from like-2016.
Pars Khodro built 34,190 units of the SAIPA Pride, down 3.8% from prior-year. The company also produces two Renault models, the Logan (locally known as the L90 or Tondar 90) and the Sandero. The 19,842 Logan assemblies were up 85% year-on-year and Sandero output jumped 100% to 19,116 units. The company also doubled production of Chinese-derived Brilliance cars with 16,874 units.
The two largest private automakers in Iran, China-based automaker Chery and the indigenous Kerman Motor, have a meager share of the market.
Chery produced 26,485 vehicles from March through July, up 36.3% and good for a 4% market share. SUVs and CUVs accounted for 37% of total output.
Kerman built 18,947 units during the period in collaboration with international automakers including China’s Lifan and JAC. The company also has a production agreement with South Korean automaker Hyundai.
