Industry minister calls on automakers to boost production

Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Reza Rahmani has called on the country’s major automakers to increase production by 300,000, raising their total output to 1.2 million vehicles in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 20).

Speaking in a meeting with the heads of the country’s two major carmakers, namely Iran Khodro (IKCO) and SAIPA, Rahmani noted that they need to carefully examine the causes of the current turmoil in the country’s auto market and take serious steps to improve their sales process.

“In addition to the improvement of sales processes, the issue of increasing production should also be seriously pursued, and automakers need to be transparent so that the results of their actions would be tangible for the people,” Rahmani stressed.

The official further mentioned the current gap between the supply and demand in the country’s auto industry and said, “To fill this gap, the ministry is taking necessary measures for launching new automotive hubs and for restoring the country’s idle automotive units.”

According to the official, currently in Iran, unlike other countries where the automotive industry has stagnated due to the coronavirus outbreak, the demand for cars has increased, which requires urgent action to increase production and to modify the market according to the unusual situation.

Despite the efforts made over the past year, the auto industry has faced serious challenges due to some negative factors like inflationary expectations and the inflow of liquidity toward this sector, he regretted.

“This crisis can be overcome through transparency,” Rahmani stressed.

He finally pointed to some solutions for the improvement of the industry, saying, “One of the necessities for the development of this industry is to utilize the successful experiences of other countries regarding the use of common platforms and common engines in products, which in practice can reduce the production costs.”

source: TehranTimes