MIMT figures released on Saturday showed that car production had reached a total of 903,800 units at the end of the past fiscal year, up against 758,900 units reported for the year to March 2020.

However, a breakdown of figures related to total vehicle output in Iran over the same period showed that pickup truck production had risen by 6.5% to 80,364, while output of trucks, small trucks and truck cabs had climbed by 53.6% to 6,395 units.

Automotive companies had produced 7.8% fewer buses minibuses and vans compared to the year to March 2020 as output declined to 1,873, showed the report.

Tractor output surged by 15.9% to 21,666 units while production of combine harvesters reached 6,395 units, up 44.5 percent year on year.

Increased vehicle production has come despite weeks of closures imposed by the two main Iranian car manufacturers since March 2020 when the spread of the coronavirus pandemic caused the government to introduce lockdown measures across the country.

However, car manufacturers ramped up production last year to respond to growing demand in a domestic market where major international brands have almost no presence.

A senior MIMT official said the ministry has set a car output target of 1.25 million for the calendar year to March 2022.

Bahman Salehinia said that the Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) and Saipa would be responsible for a bulk of production at nearly 1.1 million vehicles.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Minister of industries in Iran says the government has no plan to revise a series of harsh tariffs imposed on exports of raw metals as the government seeks to gain more revenues through the export of finished products that could generate more added value for the country.

Reza Rahmani said on Monday that tariffs of up to 25 percent imposed on exports of raw iron and other metals by Iran will remain in place at least until March when the current Iranian calendar year ends.

The minister rejected criticism targeted at the government that the tariffs had inflicted losses on the country and hampered efforts to offset the impacts of the American sanctions through increasing the exports.

“Imposing tariffs on exports are meant to support the (domestic) productions and to attain the highest added value possible,” said Rahmani, adding, “This policy was implemented with regards to the raw materials and semi-finished products and would not disrupt the success path of the exports.”

Iran, a leading producer of steel and other precious metals like copper, levied the duties in late September as major smelters and mills across the country said they were facing inventory shortages due to a rise in exports of raw metals to countries like China.

A harsh tariff of 25 percent has been imposed on iron and manganese, including the export of concentrates, while raw copper exports face a 10-percent tax.

In a bid to fend off rising criticism from some exporters, the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade (MIMT) revised down some of the tariffs earlier this month, including for copper concentrate, chromite and lead concentrate.

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