Iran’s L90 production to begin next year

Renault and Iranian automobile manufacturers have agreed that the Iranian side would produce 60 percent of the parts in the first phase of the project, earlier planned to begin in April 2006, he said.

No contract in Iran is as binding as the L90 contract, because domestic production’s share in the contract is set at 60 percent, Mofidi said referring to the recent comments made by a lawmaker in this regard.

Renault has accepted the Iranian parliament’s conditions that some 60 percent of the components for the budget sedans must be manufactured in Iran.

He also announced that the first batch of the imported L90s would also hit Iran’s streets in late February, this year.

Andreas Gabriel, the managing director of Renault pars Company – the joint venture with France’s Renault for production of L90 Logan and Megane sedans — had said in December 2005 that Iran would begin production of the latest model of the popular Renault Megane in 2006.

Meanwhile, an official with Renault Pars Co. said that the company had concluded an agreement with an Iranian firm, MegaMotor Co. to domestically build the engines for the no-frills sedans.

Based on earlier schedules, some 15,000 units will be produced annually in the first phase. The cars will enter the market with the 1600 cc L90 engine and a 2000 cc options. The price of the produced car is estimated to be around 8,000 euros for full option models.

Capital investment in the L90 project will total 1.5 billion euros.

RA/MA

END

MNA