MNA � According to the latest statistics released by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), car industry is still experiencing plus 18% growth in Iran. �


More 1.718 million of various new vehicles were sold at Iran�s market in 2017, according to sales statistics supplied by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA).

The number indicates a rise by 18 percent year-on-year, as over 1,448,500 new vehicles were sold in the Iranian market in 2016. The growth rate was around 18.5 percent a year earlier. It is the first time in post-sanctions era in which the number surpasses the pre-sanctions statistics. More than 1.688 million of vehicles were sold in the country in 2011.

The OICA data also shows that more than 96.804 million new vehicles were sold in global markets in 2017 in comparison with 93.85 million in 2016. According to the san=me source, the sales in Iran make up for 1.7 percent of the global market.

While Iran is the 12th biggest market of new cars in the world, China is the table-topper in the category ahead of US and Japan. In 2017, around 29 million new vehicles were sold in China while the Americans bought 17 million new vehicles and the Japanese lagged ehind with 5 million purchases.

The number of cars on Iran�s roads surpassed 14.13 million in 2015, according to the OICA. The figure includes 12.7 million passenger cars and 1.43 million commercial vehicles.

The number of vehicles in use in Iran stood at 13.36 and 12.679 million in 2014 and 2013 respectively.

The motorization rate increased from 171 in 2014 to 179 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants in 2015 in Iran, according to the report.

The average global motorization rate was 182 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants in 2015.

The report says that 1.282 billion cars were in use in the world in 2015. The figure stood at 1.234 billion in 2014.

Iran's car output reached 1.165 million units in 2016, according to the OICA. The figure indicated an 18.6-percent rise versus 2015, which is the highest output growth rate among car manufacturers in the world.

The Islamic Republic was the world's 18th biggest car manufacturer in 2016.