Renault�s official representative in Iran, Negin Khodro, has announced that new models of Safrane, Scala and Duster will be on sale before the end of this year, according to Persian Khodro on Saturday.

Director of the local joint venture, Ali Shokouhi, said he hopes the new cars would be ready to order �in a matter of months.� The director also mentioned that buyers can put down a 30% deposit in advance. He also noted that when deposits are accepted for the new vehicles, buyers can choose to pay off the entire price of the vehicle in 90, 120 and 150 days.

Negin Khodro will also accept larger down payments for the vehicles next year, the report notes.

Shokouhi added the final price of the cars is currently not known and will be finalized on delivery of the vehicles in the country, a standard pricing tactic in Iran.

All vehicles sold by Negin Khodro will continue to come with a five-year or 150,000 km warranty, whichever comes first, the company head added.

Renault�s position in Iran may seem confusing for buyers wanting to purchase one of their many models on offer.

Negin Khodro sells some of the French brands� luxury vehicles as well as rebadged Dacia Duster.

In addition to Negin Khodro, the Paris headquartered multinational also signed contracts in recent months with Pars Khodro to produce other rebadged Dacia branded vehicles under the Renault moniker.

Last week, Pars Khodro and Renault announced they would produce 15,000 Sandero hatchbacks in Iran by the end of the year.

Sandero, which will be released under the name B90 in Iran, will be produced 40% locally. Pars started trial production of the car in May. The company�s CEO, Nasser Aqamohammadi, said Sandero will be publicly released by August.

Based on the Logan platform, the Sandero is a super-mini car jointly produced by Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia.

The Renault L90 (Logan) model is produced by all three major manufacturers, with each company offering the same car with three different price strategies.

On top of this, Renault hopes to push other cars like the Clio and Captur models via Iran Khodro, Iran�s largest auto producer.

Renault�s three-pronged strategy with Negin, Pars and IKCO to reenter Iran marks its resurgence in the local market.

During the peak of the Western-imposed sanctions placed on the automotive sector in the country, many international players like Renault and their main competitor PSA Peugeot Citroen pulled out of the Iranian market entirely.

However, during the course of the P5+1 nuclear negotiations in Europe, multiple delegations of French businessmen rushed to Tehran to sign up with Iranian automakers before the end of sanctions.

By Financial Tribune