Following the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran in January, the country’s main carmaker, Iran Khodro Industrial Group (IKCO), has said it intends to export 30,000 vehicles to international markets in the next 12 months.
“IKCO has already picked up one or more vehicles as its main items to export to certain markets,” said its deputy CEO for export and international affairs, Saeed Tafazzoli, in a recent statement. “The selection has been made after evaluating the preferences and needs of each market’s customers and the capabilities of IKCO’s rivals in those markets,” he added.
Tafazzoli said the carmaker would promote its brands by prioritising assembly of the Runna, Dena and Soren models at sites abroad, which include Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Senegal and Venezuela.
The carmaker has also begun production of the Arisun pickup in Iraq and aims to add an assembly line there at the plant in Iskandariya for other models by March next year. It first started Arisun production in Iraq in 2014 but output has been low volume so far. Tafazzoli said a number of rivals, mostly Chinese ones, had already entered Iraq’s market and gained significant market share there.
IKCO now intends to produce more vehicles conforming to the Euro 5 and Euro 6 emissions standards in an effort to push sales of its vehicles in international markets, according to Tafazzoli.
In line with Iran's Automotive Industry Outlook 2025, the country is aiming to make 3m vehicles a year and to export one third of them. As the biggest carmaker in Iran and the Middle East, IKCO is likely to be making up a substantial percentage of those exports.
