IHS Automotive estimates a production loss of 2,200 cars per day at Toyota's plants as a result of the recent explosions in China's Port of Tianjin.

Iran has traditionally been a high-volume automotive market, whose geographic advantage has endowed it the potential to serve as a production hub in the Middle East. The recent lifting of economic sanctions has burnished the country's reputation as a business hotbed, with the automotive market expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.4 per cent from 2014 to 2022. Unsurprisingly, global original equipment manufacturers, suppliers and other market participants are exhibiting unprecedented eagerness to be a part of the Iranian growth story.

A draft agreement, reached between Iran and the P5+1 countries - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Germany - which would see the former reduce its nuclear activities in return for the gradual ending of economic sanctions, would have a positive impact on the future of the Iranian automotive industry.

It's the Daytona 500 of vehicle manufacturing: the race to bring connected cars, light trucks and SUVs to market. Unprecedented safety, driver assistance and infotainment features promise to revolutionize the driving experience. Still, few industry executives are confident that their current connected vehicle initiatives are on the right track.