Tehran, Iran, April 20
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iran's auto manufacturers owe $2.3 billion to the owners of factories that manufacture car parts, said the head of Iranian Auto Parts Manufacturers Association Mohammad Baqer Rejal said.
He added a great part of the debt was accumulated in the past few months as only four months ago the debt stood at $1.6 billion, IRINN TV reported April 20.
Rejal said while part making factories are working at 1/3 of their capacities, a large portion of auto parts consumed in the country is imported from abroad.
Only 15 to 20 percent of auto parts cannot be produced inside Iran which is due to the fact that launching their production lines is not economically beneficial - they mostly includ electronic parts, he said.
Underlining that the workforce is the most precious asset of the factories, he said that many part makers are unable to preserve their workforces despite the fact that 15 to 20 years has been spent to educate them.
Despite such facts, Iranian car makers claim they aim at turning the country into an auto production hub in the region.
The 2014 production statistics released by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) show that Iran's auto production increased by 46.7 percent in the 12-month period. The figures indicated that Iranian automakers produced 1,090,846 cars and commercial vehicles in the mentioned period.