Page 33 - IRANRptJun18

9.1.2 Automotive sector news
Iran’s imports of foreign-made cars fell 73% y/y to 1,034 units in the first month of the new Persian year (started March 21), Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on April 22 citing the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA). Securing imports of all kinds has lately become increasingly difficult since the Rouhani administration in early April moved to rewrite the rules of hard currency trading in the country in response to the sudden dizzying descent of the Iranian rial (IRR) against the dollar. The value of all vehicles imported into Iran in the first calendar month reached $23.7mn, 77% down year on year. The IRNA report noted that across the whole 12 months of the last Persian year, some 70,755 vehicles worth $1.8bn were imported, marking an 8.66% y/y increase.
Iranian automakers sold 1,718,565 units during 2017, according to a report by the Organisation Internationale De Constructeurs d’Automobiles (OICA). Iranians have seen growth in the number of vehicles on offer since the nuclear deal relieving Iran of economic sanctions kicked in at the start of 2016, with French and Chinese auto producers in particular arriving in the Islamic Republic. In all, Iran produced 1,515,396 vehicles last year, including cars and heavy-duty vehicles like trucks, marking production growth of 18.19% y/y. Automakers produced 1,418,550 cars and 96,846 commercial vehicles. Iran last produced above 1.5mn vehicles in 2011. That was prior to the imposition of the nuclear sanctions which forced major players like Renault and PSA Group’s Peugeot and Citroen brands to pull out of the country.
9.1.3 Transport sector news
Air passenger traffic volume in Iran expanded by 9% y/y to 56mn people in 2017, the Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company (IAC) reported on March 3. Its data showed passenger traffic rose while the country experienced 451,000 plane arrivals and departures. Iran is becoming increasingly open to visitors from Europe and Asia, with the introduction of visa-on-arrival options easing routes into the country. The IAC also said Iran, a country of 80mn, saw some 549,000 tonnes of air cargo transferred through its international and domestic airports, representing an 11% y/y increase. For arrivals and departures, Tehran’s former international but now solely domestic airport, Mehrabad, led with more than 142,000 and dealt with more than 17mn passengers. The airport remains the most used as it now acts as the exclusive air departure gateway out of Tehran to the provinces. Tehran’s sole international airport, Imam Khomeini, witnessed 58,000 landings and take-offs, with more than 10mn passengers using this departure point to head abroad last year. The airport topped the ranking for freight, with some 163,000 tonnes coming through.
9.1.4 TMT sector news
The ban that tens of millions of Iranians hoped would never happen appears to have arrived. State television and a news agency affiliated with the Iranian judiciary on April 30 reported that the encrypted Telegram Messenger mobile and desktop messaging app has been blacklisted on the grounds of protecting national security.
Telegram, subscribed to by more than half of Iran’s population of 80mn, has
33 IRAN Country Report June 2018 www.intellinews.com