Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 22
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iranian carmaker Renault Pars officially inaugurated Renault Sandero assembly line.
The car will be manufactured in both manual and automatic gearbox models, Iran 's IRIB reported on Sept. 22.
Renault Pars is an Iranian joint venture established in 2004 and owned by Renault and Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO). The company is in charge of managing the assembly of completely knocked down (CKD) Renault cars by local manufacturers Iran Khodro, Saipa and Pars Khodro.
"Despite all the problems as a result of the sanctions, we managed to design and manufacture Sandero in two years," Mehdi Jamali, managing director of Iranian carmaker Saipa, said.
By the end of the year (March 20, 2016), 10,000 Sanderos will be manufactured, he noted.
Sandero's combined cycle fuel consumption is 7.6 liters and 5.3 liters per 100 kilometers, respectively. It meets euro-4 standards.
Renault had to suspend its Iran business in 2013 after stricter sanctions were imposed that specifically included tough restrictions on banking transactions with the country. The French major reported a huge fall in profits for the first half of 2013 after writing off the entire value of its business in Iran. The firm suffered a loss of 512-million-euro (680-million-dollar) after halting its activities in the Islamic Republic.
Edited by CN