Approximately 223,023 cars have been produced in Iran in the first quarter of the current calendar year (March 21 - June 20), according to a report by zawya.com.

This is a 79.8 percent increase compared to the same period of time last year, Iran's TASNIM News Agency reported on July 2.The country's automotive industry faced a 40 percent production decrese in 2012. In 2011, it was the fifth largest car manufacturer in Asia, producing 1.6 million vehicles, according to the zawya.com report

Sedans accounted for 189,849 percent of the vehicles produced; 78.5 percent more than the previous year. Iran also produced 30,986 pickup trucks, 2,089 trucks, 40 buses, and 14 minibuses in the mentioned period, according to the report.

The report cited increasing prices of raw materials and foreign currencies among the factors causing difficulties for domestic vehicle production.