Bourse and Bazaar | Hassan Karimi Sanjari: Iran produced just 770,000 automobiles in 2019, down from 1,418,550 just two years prior. The re-imposition of U.S. secondary sanctions interrupted new investment in Iran�s automotive sector, particularly by European automakers such as Renault, Peugeot, and Volkswagen.


The median age in Iran is just 32. Limited public transport options and cheap petrol make car ownership attractive and even necessary�under normal circumstances, the Iranians would purchase up to 2 million cars each year, with a total sales value of up to $20 billion.


The rising cost of manufacturing inputs and a shortfall in production has contributed to a sharp increase in the price of automobiles, particularly in the secondary market. While Iranian policymakers consider the automotive industry as a �strategic sector,� with state-owned firms Iran Khodro and SAIPA among the country�s largest employers, the hit to output over past two years has made clear the limits of the government�s ability to grow the automotive sector without foreign partnerships.














Over the last year, companies linked to Iran�s defense ministry have stepped in to support production at the Iran Khodro and SAIPA in an attempt to localize the production of more parts and shield automakers from the rising cost of imports. At a signing ceremony in December of 2019, SAIPA CEO Seyyed Javad Soleimani told reporters, �With Defense Ministry�s help, domestic substitutes for 35 key auto parts are to be produced in Iran to curb the industry�s reliance on the global supply chain.�


The cooperation between automakers and defense contractors is best understood as a stop-gap solution for the automotive industry. In the short-term the goal is to raise output. In the medium-term, the automotive sector will still require the transformative investment that only foreign automakers can provide.


Foreign automakers have long understood the potential of Iran�s large domestic market and the combination of low labor costs and local parts production. Iran�s industrial workforce is skilled and experience, particularly relative to their compensation. The monthly minimum wage is IRR 18.34 million for the current Iranian calendar year�now equivalent to less than USD 100 per month at current exchange rates. Between 2009 and 2011, two out of every 100 cars and commercial vehicles produced worldwide was manufactured in Iran.













These dynamics led numerous European, Korean, and, more recently, Chinese car and truck manufactures to establish license manufacturing agreements and even full joint ventures with Iranian automakers. Iranian auto parts makers developed the supply chain to provide the local parts content on which Iranian policymakers insisted. The manufacturing of the Renault Tondar, known as the Dacia Logan in most markets, saw Iranian spare parts manufacture obtain �Grade A� certifications from Renault. Following the new investments committed after the implementation of sanctions relief in 2016, there were growing expectations that Iran would become an exporter of European-branded automobiles to regional markets.


Notably, the new post-JCPOA investment was intended to facilitate the partial privatization of the state-owned manufacturers. Through the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO), the Iranian state was set to become a minority shareholder in the new Renault joint venture. A similar deal was struck between Daimler and Iran Khodro Diesel for the manufacturing of Mercedes-Benz trucks in Iran.


Allowing foreign firms to be the majority shareholders of their joint ventures was an important shift in industrial policy for the �strategic� automotive sector. Such policy was also intended to address the long-running issue of inefficiency and poor productivity among the state-owned automakers. There were also a number of deals between foreign automakers and private sector firms in Iran, such as the agreement between Volkswagen and Mammut, which has produced Scania trucks in Iran since 2008. Scania�s persistence in the Iranian market has earned it a commanding market share of over 60 percent.


Clearly, prior to the re-imposition of sanctions, Iran was set to deepen its dependence on foreign investment to drive growth in the automotive sector. In the case that sanctions are once again lifted, that drive for foreign investment would no doubt resume. Iran�s automotive market will remain attractive, but foreign automakers will want to be sure that any new round of sanctions relief will be durable.