Regional Cooperation on Agenda
TEHRAN, Giant automaker Iran Khodro will soon begin export of 25,000 Samand cabs to Morocco as part of Tehran's efforts to promote trade ties with Arab and African nations, said a Commerce Ministry report.
According to ISNA, the ministry further said that the company will export the national car, the Samand, as well as its other products to African countries.
It noted that the national automotive industry has exported a significant number of vehicles to Syria. It said Saipa exports Pride sedans and Iran Khodro sells buses to Syria.
The report stressed that Iran is determined to expand economic cooperation with regional counties.
The auto giant Iran Khodro signed a joint investment agreement with a Chinese carmaker on April 24.
Iran Khodro, also the Middle East's largest auto manufacturer, said it would have a 30 percent stake in the $60 million joint venture with Youngman Automobile Group to build the Samand production saloon in Jinhua, Zhejiang province.
Production is due to start in 2007 with an initial annual output of 30,000 units in the first phase.
Iran Khodro has also signed a contract with Syria to export Samand.
Samand exports have taken center stage in Iran's lethargic auto industry, which has largely failed to win customers' satisfaction at home.
Many experts believe that the fresh wave of car imports which began earlier this year following the government's decision to cut tariffs from 130 to 100 percent would reduce demand for Iran-assembled cars.
© Iran Daily 2005
