Iranian auto sector in decline, despite last month's boost

London — Iran's auto production has declined on the back of difficulty in sourcing parts, according to Fars News Agency.

Previously, the Industries Ministry regularly published statistics on car production. However, following consecutive declines, the ministry stopped publishing such reports and the latest data has been released by the news agency.

Total automotive production in the first nine months of the Iranian year (to December 21, 2019) totaled 572,965 units, a 24.8% on-year decline, according to Fars.

However during the latest month, ending December 21, car production doubled compared to the same period a year before, with output at 85,740 cars— a 104.5% boost, it said.

Almost all foreign partners of Iranian carmakers pulled out of the country after US sanctions targeted Iran's automotive industries but auto producers have reportedly started using alternative auto parts suppliers, including domestic and Chinese companies.

At the moment most of the body plate used in the country's auto industry is produced by Mobarakeh Steel Company (MSC), the largest Iranian sheet producer and its affiliated company Charmahal Bakhtiari Automotive Sheet Co (CBASCO), and only a small portion of the requirements are still being imported, according to an informed source.