Peugeot suffers mass losses over West sanctions on Iran

Europe's second largest automaker, PSA Peugeot Citroen, has posted the largest annual revenue loss in its history, partly caused by the West's sanctions against Iran, Press TV reported.

Iran was the French car maker's second-biggest market in 2011 in terms of trade volume.

In February 2012, PSA Peugeot Citroen stopped its trade with Iran after the enforcement of US-led financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic for its nuclear energy program.

The French car making group also halted its exports of vehicles to Iran, which accounted for around 13 percent of the firm's global deliveries in 2011.

It cost the automaker the annual sale of half a million cars and an estimated 1.5 billion euros in revenue last year.

The news comes while the company's downward spiral since 2012 has already led to France's first major industrial closure in two decades and some 8,000 layoffs.

Earlier Iran already announced that Iran will close the production line of six cars made by foreign brands.

Nissan's Maxim and Qashqai, Hyundai's Avante and Verna, Kia's Rio and Lifan 520 are among those brands.

Hyundai has stopped providing parts to Iran, while Kia refused to install an air bag system on the Rio.

Nissan also won't renew its contract for manufacturing Maxima in Iran. Qashqai's production line will also be closed due to financial problems.

Iran's vehicle manufacturers are faced with both rising production costs and lacking some details as to how to manufacture cars after the giant international auto companies left Iran because of sanctions aimed to curb the country's disputed nuclear programme.

These include Italian Fiat, German General Motors and its French partner PSA Peugeot Citroen, South Korean Hyundai and the Japanese Toyota Motor Corporation.