Baku, Azerbaijan, May 3
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Negotiations between Iran's second major carmaker Saipa and the French giant carmaker Citroen for jointly producing cars have been concluded, says Mansour Moazami, managing director of the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO).
The first joint products will come into market within the next 18-24 months, said Moazami, IRNA news agency reported May 3.
The cars will be manufactured in Saipa's plant in the city of Kashan in central Iran through a 50/50 venture and Citroen will provide the needed financial resources, he added.
Certain share of the joint products is to be exported to third markets, which will allow taking a share in the regional car market, said Moazami.
Last month a Citroen delegation, comprised of Citroen's Board Member Jean-Christophe Quemard and Vice President Oliver Burgess, visited Tehran and held talks there with the Iranian officials.
They presented several proposals for the new phase of the post-sanctions cooperation, including production of cars.
Iranian carmakers manufactured 1.1 million cars over the last fiscal year (ended March 20) and there are plans to increase the figure to 1.3 million this year.
Iran plans to produce three million cars a year over the next 10 years.
The deal on establishing a joint venture between the Iranian leading auto maker Iran Khodro (IKCO) and France's Peugeot, inked during the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's January visit to France, was among the first post-sanctions contracts signed between an Iranian company and a foreign company.