The French company PSA Peugeot-Citroen is in “intense” talks about resuming production in Iran, having quit the country back in March 2012 following international banking sanctions being imposed on Tehran as punishment for its disputed nuclear programme.
The US added further sanctions on the Iran’s automotive industry in 2013, but those have now been lifted under an interim agreement between Iran and the world powers.
Iran was formerly Peugeot’s second-largest market by volume, and one in four cars in the country carry the Lion brand; and while total car production in Iran was 1.6 million in 2011, it has halved over the past two years.
Jean Christophe Quemard, PSA’s operations director for the Middle East, attended an auto-industry conference and exhibition in the Iranian capital, where he told delegates the company wanted to return. He said: “We have a long relationship with Iran, and we want to create a joint venture covering the entire automotive chain as soon as possible.”