Products and relationships
Iran's automobile production crossed the 1 million mark in 2005. Iran Khodro is one of the largest car manufacturers in Asia. It has established joint-ventures with foreign partners on 4 continents. For more than three decades, Iran Khodro produced the Paykan, a car developed from the Rootes Group's Rootes Arrow range, best known as the Hillman Hunter. Paykan saloon car production was discontinued in 2005, almost thirty years after the end of Arrow production (latterly as the Chrysler Hunter) in Britain. A pick-up version was still in production until 2015.[9] Bardo Pick-up, pick-up version of Paykan, will be replaced by a new pick-up called the Arisun which is related to the Samand.[10]
The Iranian-designed IKCO Samand replaced the dated Paykan as Iran's "national car", and featured a partly Iranian-designed CNG/petrol dual-fuel engine in its Soren variant.
The firm has a long-term relationship with European and Asian manufacturers including PSA Peugeot Citroën, manufacturing and assembling a number of models under license from these firms. In 2009, Peugeot 206, Peugeot Pars, Peugeot 405, Peugeot Roa, and Samand sedans were IKCO's export-bound cars sent to Azerbaijan, Iraq, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Syria and Afghanistan.[11] As at 2012, IKCO products incorporate 5-10 percent of components imported from France. IKCO's parts imports from Peugeot accounted for 700-800 million euros ($572–654 million) per year.[12] Iran has reached 98% of self-sufficiency in producing Peugeot 405 parts and 75% in Peugeot 206 parts.[13]
By the end of 2012, Peugeot cut its relations with Iran Khodro due to the international sanctions against Iran. Four years later, in 2016, after reaching Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Iran and E3+3, Iran Khodro and Peugeot decided to make a 50%-50% joint venture named IKAP to start the relations again.
Renault Pars is in charge of the engineering, quality control, parts supply, logistics, managing sales policies as well as marketing and customer services for Renault products in Iran and IKCO is one of its main shareholders that produces Tondar for the domestic market. Renault Pars is a joint venture, 51 percent of which belongs to Renault of France. Forty-nine percent of Renault Pars' shares is jointly held by Iran's Industrial Development and Renovation Organization, IKCO and Saipa. The agreement to form this joint venture was signed in March 2004.[14]
IKCO also manufactures trucks, buses and E-Class passenger cars under license from Mercedes-Benz. In a joint-venture with Daimler AG, Iran Khodro is to start production of sophisticated 900-class Mercedes-Benz engines; Daimler states that Iranian-made engines will be exported to Germany.[15] Among Asian automotive manufacturers, IKCO is cooperating with Suzuki. Producing Suzuki Grand Vitara in IKCO's Site in Khorasan, IKCO will produce Suzuki Kizashi.[16]
In 2012, IKCO announced that at least 3% of the company's sales will be allocated to research and development. As of 2015, the company's 7-year strategic plans for product development are in body design, die making, suspension, powertrain, trim and car electronics.[17]
In 2017, Italian car design firm 'Pininfarina' signed a €70 million, 36-month contract with Iran's biggest car producer, Iran Khodro Group on for the development of four new models and to give the carmaker a second wind in research and development of new models. The agreement will help develop a modular automotive platform for four different vehicles, and the first passenger car of the medium segment of the market, a press release from the Italian firm said.[18][19]
