Financial Tribune- The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has released the latest data on car production during 11 months of the current fiscal year that ends in March.

In the period a total of 1,224,920 vehicles were manufactured in Iran including passenger cars, vans, pickups, minibuses, buses and heavy-duty trucks.

A year-on-year comparison shows the figure was up 39.1% from last year�s 880,629 units.

The government had earlier said it expects auto production to reach over 1.35 million units before the end of the calendar year. The latest figures indicate catching up on the target.

Passenger cars accounted for the bulk of the output. The ministry said 1,138,800 vehicles were manufactured during the period, up by 41.8% from last year�s 803,261 units.

Pickup trucks came in second with 71,542 units, up 7% from last year�s 66,877 trucks.

Furthermore 12,687 heavy-duty trucks were made locally, the figure rose by 36.6% year-on-year. Carmakers produced 9,291 heavy-duty vehicles during the same period.

However, in the said period only 162 vans were manufactured. Though the figure is insignificant, it grew more than eighty times year-on-year as only two units of vans were produced last year. The majority of vans made locally are of Chinese origin and are used as taxis in the public transportation fleet.

In addition, output of midibuses and mini-buses saw a 34.6% year-on-year increase during this time. A total of 723 midibuses and mini-buses were manufactured in the 11 months to February 18, while 537 units were made and sold in the same period last year.

A midibus is a classification of single-decker minibuses which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker.

Production of large buses also saw a 52.2% year-on-year increase as 1,006 units were manufactured compared to the 661 units in the same period last year.

Monthly Figures
In the month ending February , carmakers manufactured 136,989 units, up 42.2% from the 96,304 vehicles they produced in the same period the year before.

Passenger car production saw a 48.1% year-on-year increase�128,177 units were manufactured during the 30-day period, up from 86,543 units in the same month in 2016.

Production of pickups dropped by 27.6% in the month to February 18 compared to the same period the year before. Auto companies produced 6,368 pickups in this period while 8,790 units were manufactured in the same period last year.

In this month 2,187 heavy-duty trucks were manufactured. The figure was a 148% year-on-year increase from last year�s 882 vehicles.

Production of midibuses and mini-buses saw a jump in the month. Up 229% from the same month last year when 27 units came out of the assembly lines, auto manufacturers made 89 units.

Rising 171% from last year�s 62 units, production of buses reached 168 units in the past month.

In an interview with Financial Tribune�s sister publication Donya-e-Eqtesad, the deputy minister of industries, Mansour Moazami, said domestic auto companies are set to increase daily production in the next fiscal.

�With a 10% increase from current figures, daily car production is set to reach 6,000 units,� he said.

This figure does not include cars that will be produced through joint ventures with foreign firms like PSA Group and Renault, he noted.