TEHRAN – Spokesperson for Iran’s Trade Ministry Omid Ghalibaf has said that Iranian automakers Iran-Khodro and SAIPA are awaiting certification in Russia for the export of cars.
Ghalibaf said that SAIPA had already signed an agreement with a Belarusian company to supply 45,000 Shahin and Quick model cars, which will also be delivered to the Russian market.
However, Ghalibaf did not clarify whether the cars will be shipped directly to Russia or via Belarus due to Western sanctions. While negotiations with Moscow are underway, there are currently no direct agreements between Iranian automakers and Russia.
Last November, Moscow and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding for Iranian car exports to Russia valued at $300 million, and the two countries also explored the possibility of joint automobile production.
Iranian automaker Iran Khodro, which assembles revamped models of Chinese Haima and Dongfeng brands, also launched production of the Tara sedan based on the Peugeot 301 last year, according to data from the companies. The company also plans to introduce new models based on Peugeot and Citroen prototypes in the future.
Last December, Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali announced Tehran’s interest in collaborative automotive manufacturing with Moscow.
Autostat data shows that there were 10,400 Iran Khodro cars, represented by the Samand model, in Russia as of July 2022.
Iran has managed to create an automobile industry that meets domestic demand despite decades of Western sanctions, and the government has reduce the country’s reliance on foreign car imports since the U.S. reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic in 2018.