Financial Tribune - Iran's state-owned and private carmakers missed their production target by� 50,000 units in the last fiscal that ended on March 20.

According to the latest data released by local automotive website Asre Khodro, total car production hit 1.25 million during the 12 months.

However, the industry saw a 40.7% growth in auto production year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade.

Missing of� the target should worry carmakers as earlier in the year they had anticipated sales would exceed their initial estimates.

However, production delays during the year that just ended put off many from purchasing a new car for fear of getting a raw deal if something better comes along from one of the several companies entering the market, for instance Renault.

Meanwhile, logistical issues have also dogged carmakers rushing to bring out new vehicles.

In one example last autumn Renault announced it was planning to sell the Indian-developed Renault Kwid to the local market, however, no word has been heard since the initial announcement.

The company local director, Payman Kargar, said the car would be competitively priced at the lower-end of the local offerings, around 300 million rials ($7800) placing it in competition with SAIPA's Tiba model.

Another possible issue for the car companies is the ongoing belt-tightening by car buyers, with many still put off by high-interest rates against hire- purchase schemes.

Car companies usually charge over and above the rate of inflation for car purchases.

Just before the end of the year, the largest car group, Iran Khodro (IKCO) announced it had begun production of a Peugeot 2008 crossover as part of its joint venture with the PSA Group�s Peugeot brand.

The car is likely to cost more than 900 million rials ($24,000), which is some 20% higher than its equivalent vehicle sold in Europe.

In this year Iran hopes to produce some 1.5 million vehicles by March 2018.



Iran Auto Production (March 2016-17)


Pride
213,143


Peugeot 405
148,622


Peugeot 206
161,593


Peugeot Pars
119,230


Tiba
106,136


Samand
102,702


Renault
82,956


MVM
55,008


L90
76,200


Nasim and Saba Pride
55,218


JAC and Lifan
41,448


Dena
28,008


Brilliance
31,115


Sandero
36,249


Runna
12,253


Cerato
13,197


Pars Tondar
14,227


Dongfeng H30
11,911


Tiba X200 Hybrid
7,833


Pride Hybrid
5,347


Mazda 3
2,952


Suzuki Grand Vitara
2,645


Haima
3,687


Changan
4,686


Asa
1,080


Tiba X100
288