WADE MEETS IRANIAN INDUSTRY MINISTER
FNA
2008-12-06
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Industries and Mines Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian
held a meeting with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and Prime
Minister Cheikh Hadjibou Soumare in Dakar on Thursday.
At the meeting, the Senegalese president said that the doors to his
country’s market are open to Iranian companies willing to invest in
the African country.
President Wade also said he has long awaited the initiation of Samand
production unit.
The Iranian minister said that Iran looks at its relations with
Senegal from a strategic angle.
"Iran considers Senegal a gateway to the markets of the west African
countries," he said during the inauguration of a production line of
Samand sedan cars in the capital.
Mehrabian went on to say that the opening of Samand production is
aimed at boosting the level of bilateral cooperation between Tehran
and Dakar.
Mehrabian is visiting the country at the official invitation of
Senegalese Minister of Mines, Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises
Ousmane Ngom.
During his stay in Senegal, Iranian auto-manufacturer inaugurated
the assembly line of his popular passenger car Samand in the African
country.
Iran-Senegal relations are flourishing, Mehrabian said after the
meeting, the Islamic republic news agency reported.
The officials stressed the need to promptly implement the memorandums
of understanding signed by the two countries on cooperation in the
fields of agriculture, energy, and petrochemicals.
Meantime, Managing Director of Iranian carmaker Iran Khodro Company
(IKCO) Manouchehr Manteqi said on Wednesday that Samand manufacturing
plant will produce 10,000 units of car annually in Senegal.
He added the plan have been funded with dlrs 60 million, of which
60 percent will be paid by Iran Khodro, 20 percent by Senegalese
government and the rest by Senegal private sector.
"In a bid to equip Senegal taxi fleet, some 2,000 units of Samand
have been exported to this country," he said.
Also earlier on Wednesday, Iranian Industries and Mines Minister Ali
Akbar Mehrabian also said that the country’s auto-manufacturers now
export spare parts to 39 countries
"We need to promote the quality of our industry as well to expand
exports and our interaction with the world," he added.
Iran’s state-owned Iran Khodro is the largest carmaker in the Middle
East, Central Asia and North Africa, with an annual production of
more than one million vehicles of various models, including cars,
trucks, minibuses and buses.
The automaker opened a plant in Syria in April and is also readying
a new plant in Turkey for 2009.
IKCO is also ramping up exports as it builds a global presence
outside Iran.
The company builds more than half a million passenger vehicles a year,
and officials have said they want to boost annual production to more
than a million vehicles and hike exports to more than 600,000 by 2016.
Iran Khodro Company has exported Samand’s sedan model to Russia,
Afghanistan, Belarus, Senegal, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The vehicle of choice for most of these local assembly operations is
the Samand, a compact sedan based heavily on the Peugeot 405 platform
and with the price starting at about $9,000. "Samand" is the Persian
name for a local breed of horse.
Market observers believe that Samand could challenge future Chinese
and Indian imports at the low end of the market.
Samand trade name is now registered at the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO).
Iran-Khodro group, the Iranian car manufacturer and owner of Samand,
is the first Iranian company whose product is registered at the WIPO.
The state will ensure against the fraudulent use of the name,
industrial design, and copying of the product manufactured by the
company worldwide.
Many other world countries, including Turkey, Bangladesh and Pakistan
are considered as established importers of petrol and gas-powered
Samand models with left and right-hand steering-wheels.
Marketing researches have shown that given the financial capability of
European and South Asian markets and the competitive advantage that
Iran enjoys, Iran-Khodro can gain a foothold in many world markets
in a relatively short period of time.
The company has other automobile production ventures with foreign
countries and companies in a bid to market share for increased exports
to regional markets.
Croatian Ambassador to Tehran said last year that the people of East
Europe are waiting for the Iranian-made passenger car ‘Samand’.
She also said that after the launch of operation of Samand assembly
line in Azerbaijan and Belarus, the manufacturing company, Iran-Khodro,
now has better chances for gaining access to the CIS and East European
markets.
According to the diplomat, Iran-Khodro officials have announced that
they would soon start exports of Samand to Poland, while the company
is now studying other East European markets, including Romania and
the republics of former Yugoslavia.
Iran started export of the latest model of Samand to 32 different
countries in autumn 2007.
Manouchehr Manteqi, Managing Director of Iran-Khodro Car Manufacturing
Company, recently stated that the above-mentioned countries are among
customers of Iran-Khodro, which have imported Samand LX and GLX before,
adding that his company planned to manufacture 8,000 Samand Suren till
May, 1,200 of which would be exported to the aforementioned countries.
Samand Suren, Iran’s first passenger car achieving Euro III emission
standard, rolled off the assembly line several months ago.
Aside from reducing its exhaust gas pollutants, the fuel consumption
of the sedan has also been cut, and as a result of the modifications
made to the new models of Samand, particularly its Engine Management
System (EMS), the engine performance has been significantly enhanced.
Better drive ability, knock reduction and improvement in the engine’s
power output are cited as other changes made to the earlier model,
according to the company officials.
Manteqi said Iran-Khodro has plans to export 600,000 cars and USD10
bln worth of products by 2016.
"To achieve this goal, we have decided to double our exports,"
he continued.
Manteqi said that Iran-Khodro’s exports amounted to USD150 mln and
USD315 mln in 2005 and 2006, respectively, adding that his company
will export USD600 mln worth of products in the current Iranian year
(ending on March 20th, 2008).
The company has other products including different models of Peugeot.
Last year, the Iran government announced plans to develop a new
model aimed specifically at Islamic markets in Africa, Asia and
the Middle East, in cooperation with local partners in Malaysia and
Turkey. With IKCO as the lead manufacturer on the project, the car
is slated to begin production in 2011 and is being designed to sell
for under $10,000.
Iran, in cooperation with Malaysia and Turkey, is due to make a car
for the Islamic markets, in particular, and the rest of the world,
in general.
According to Manteqi, the assembly line for the production of the
said car will launch operation in 2011.
Manteqi said Islamic countries would be behind all the investment
and production.
"Each Islamic country can order the additional equipment based on its
own needs. In addition to Islamic countries, this car is capable of
being presented in all global markets," Manteqi said.
Manteqi said his firm, which produced more than 525,000 cars and
pick-up trucks in 2006/07, was chosen by the Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) to lead the project.
This car will be sold for about 6,000 to 8,000 Euros. He said the main
target markets would be in Africa, the Middle East and southeast Asia.