Saw an interesting table in the financial pages the other day. Thailand ranks as number 15 in the vehicle manufacturing nations, but Iran is number 13! Number one is China at 18.5 million vehicles in 2011, followed a long way back by the US at 8.6 million.
The UK, which used to be one of the major car manufacturers, now languishes down at number 14 at 1.5 million, edging out Thailand at 1.4 million. But Iran better than us!
Iranian Samand
It turns out there are 13 public and privately owned automakers in Iran, of which two – Iran Khodro and Saipa – accounted for 94 percent of the total domestic production. Iran Khodro, produced the Paykan, which was replaced in 2005 by the Samand, with 61 percent of the market while Saipa contributed 33 percent of Iran’s total production. Iran Khodro is one of the largest car manufacturers in Asia. It has established joint-ventures with foreign partners on four continents.
Iran manufacturers six different types of vehicle, including passenger cars, 4WD, trucks, buses, minibuses, and pickup trucks. The sector directly employs about 500,000 people (roughly 2.3 percent of the workforce), and many more in related industries. About 75 percent of local output is passenger cars, with pick-ups the next largest category, accounting for around 15 percent. Almost the opposite from Thailand.
