Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.21
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iranian carmaker Iran Khodro (IKCO) may file a complaint against French Peugeot about damages it has faced after Peugeot cut its ties with the Iranian company, the Fars News Agency quoted IKCO managing director Hashem Yekkeh Zare' as saying on December 21.
Iran Khodro does not insist on continuing the presence of Peugeot in the Iranian market, the IKCO managing director added.
The complaint on Peugeot depends on the results of our negotiations with the French company, he said, adding that, "We should wait and see how Peugeot compensates its past."
On December 8, the Fars News Agency quoted a source on the condition of anonymity that cutting ties with French giant automaker, PSA Peugeot Citroen, due to the international sanctions has incurred at least €800 million loss to Iran.
According to the source, Peugeot's total production in 2011 amounted to 2.9 million cars, of which 21 percent was made in Iran, so that Iran was the second largest market for Peugeot after France.
"After 23 years of cooperation, Peugeot cut its ties with Iran and recalled 30 of its engineers from Iran within a week. Such a behavior was unprecedented in the world's car industry."
French carmakers Peugeot and Renault look to be among the clearest beneficiaries of the interim deal that lifts some sanctions on Iran, with both hoping to leap back into the Middle East's biggest auto market, according to AFP.
PSA Peugeot Citroen was the top car manufacturer in Iran before the sanctions, selling 458,000 vehicles in 2011 being its second-biggest market worldwide after France. Its cars, most of which were assembled by an Iranian partner firm and rebranded, are ubiquitous on Tehran roads.
Renault sold 103,000 vehicles there last year before leaving.
Iran itself counts car manufacturing as its second-biggest industry after oil, accounting for 10 percent of its gross domestic product.
Before the sanctions, there were 1.4 million new cars entering its market. After the sanctions, that number fell by more than a third - but it still remains the biggest market in the Middle East, more than twice as big as Saudi Arabia.