Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.6
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
The first Iranian-made diesel car will hit the domestic market in the next Iranian solar year which begins on March 21, 2014, ISNA reported on December 6.
Iranian carmakers started research on the production of diesel cars five years ago.
Mirjavad Soleimani, deputy managing director of Iran's major carmaker Iran Khodro, has said that the first diesel car may even be unveiled by the end of the current year.
The national diesel engine will be manufactured on a large scale in the next year, he said.
Iran produced 425,253 cars in the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year which started March 21, the Tasnim News Agency reported on December 4.
The country produced 989,110 cars in 2012 making it Asia's eighth largest car manufacturer. It also stood at 18th place in the world.
China, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Turkey and Indonesia were Asia's seven largest car manufacturers.
Iran's automobile output faced a 40 per cent decrease in 2012. The country was Asia's fifth largest car manufacturer in 2011 with a total output of 1,648,505.
In November 2012, Iran Khodro's former managing director Javad Najmeddin said that the first Iranian-made car powered by a diesel engine will hit the market by March 2015.
"The national diesel engine with a 1500CC capacity, 110hp output and 5.2 litres per 100 kilometre fuel consumption meets Euro-5 and Euro-6 standards," he noted.