Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.1
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: French giant carmakers Renault and Peugeot will continue cooperation with Iran.
Jean-Christophe Quémard, Peugeot Operational Director of Middle-East and Africa, said the company is interested in launching production lines in Iran benefiting from state-of-the-art technologies, Iran's Fars news agency reported on Dec. 1.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of the 2nd Iran Auto Industry International Conference, which opened today in Tehran.
Peyman Kargar, Renault Managing Director for Middle East, said on the sidelines of the conference that Renault sees Iran as a strategic partner and will continue making joint ventures with Iranian companies.
The company has the capacity to produce 300,000 cars in Iran, he added.
French Ambassador to Tehran Bruno Foucher, for his part, said France is waiting for talks between Iran and world powers on Iran's nuclear program to expand its markets in Iran.
Foreign automakers seeking a return to the potentially huge Iranian market with the lifting of international sanctions will find the business environment has changed: former joint venture partners now want to play the game by their own rules.
Iran's auto industry has been a major casualty of penalties imposed over the Islamic republic's nuclear program, with production plummeting and workers laid off because of the ensuing economic slowdown.
U.S. sanctions on the auto industry in 2013 were the main cause, on top of American and European bans on Iranian bank transactions abroad.
But the auto sanctions were lifted earlier this year after an interim nuclear agreement was reached between Iran and world powers and a final accord is still on the horizon, raising the prospect of better times for the industry.
Edited by CN