BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. Iran has boosted passenger car imports by over 12 times in value and over 18 times in number in the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2023 through January 20, 2024), compared to the same period last year, Trend reports.
Data from the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) shows that Iran imported 4,997 cars worth around $102 million in ten months. In the same period of the previous Iranian year, the country’s car imports stood at 276 cars worth $8.34 million.
The IRICA's latest data shows that Iran’s overall imports stood at 28.7 million tons, worth $48.4 billion, in the first nine months of the current Iranian year, representing a 12.3 percent increase in value and a 7 percent increase in volume year-on-year.
In general, Iran mainly focuses on the import of essential products needed by the country and applies certain restrictions on the import of goods produced domestically.
In early December, Iran allocated an additional $110 million for the import of passenger cars into the country. The Central Bank of Iran allocates foreign currency needed for car imports, as they are expensive. The car importers pay back the money to the Central Bank of Iran in rials after selling the cars. It is planned to import 40,000 passenger cars in the current Iranian year (March 21, 2023 through March 19, 2024).
During the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through December 21, 2023), Iran manufactured a total of 837,345 passenger cars, representing a 10-percent increase from the same period last Iranian year.
Over the past years, Iran has focused on domestic production instead of importing passenger cars. For this reason, the country imposed certain restrictions on the import of passenger cars into the country. However, due to insufficient domestic production and low quality and safety standards, the restrictions on importing passenger cars into the country have been reduced to a certain extent this year.
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