Iranian carmakers produced 625,300 different types of cars during the nine months to December 20, 2020, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade.
During the nine months to December 20, 2020, 60,983 vans were produced by Iranian automakers, which shows a growth of 18.5 percent compared to the related output of the preceding year.
The released data also indicated that the country produced 1,362 buses and minibuses.
Iranian carmakers exported about 1,300 vehicles, weighing 1,573 tons, to nine countries including Taiwan, Syria, the UAE, Spain, China, Iraq, and Turkey during the previous Iranian year (ending March 19, 2020).
The increase in production means the Iranian car industry is recovering from months of recession that came because of lower demand and closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Carmakers around the world have reported historic plunges in output as the pandemic has caused factories and dealerships to close in many countries.
That comes as two main Iranian car manufacturers, namely Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) and Saipa, had been struggling with low cash supply and logistics problems even before the outbreak of the pandemic in Iran late February.
IKCO, the largest carmaker in Iran, said in May that mass production of its fully homemade cars will begin early next year amid efforts to make the automotive industry in the country less vulnerable to foreign sanctions.
IKCO said the K132, a sedan based on its Samand model, will enter the market in February as the first car that would rely up to 92.5 percent on Iranian suppliers for parts and design.
The carmaker said the first version of the car will be equipped with an EC5 engine and a manual transmission, while later models will be supplied with an automatic transmission and a turbocharged engine.
It said other options on the manual K132 will include power steering, a modern braking system, two front-seat airbags and cruise control.
On fuel efficiency, the model will be equipped with Euro-5 emission-control technology and its average consumption will be 6.7 liters per 100 kilometers, according to the company.