Iran Khodro, the Middle East’s biggest carmaker, is in talks to establish a production factory in Oman with an eye on the market in Africa and the subcontinent, media reports in the Arab sultanate say. 

They quoted Hashem Yekke-Zare, CEO and president of Iran Khodro Industrial Group (IKCO), as saying that Oman had asked the company to produce 15,000 cars per year in the country.

The request was made as Yekke-Zare met Yahya al-Jaberi, the manager of Oman's free trade zone of Duqm, where they hope to set up the plant.

The IKCO chief said in a statement that the site could be established as soon as Oman's Development Fund lined up financing.

The Oman expansion will begin with the establishment of a production line which will develop further into a production site after a while, Yekke- Zare reportedly said.

Iran Khodro officials have already said a possible tie-up would target the market stretching deep into Africa.

In May, Yekke-Zare said IKCO was weighing semi-knocked-down (SKD) production of 20,000 cars a year, with 5,000 units intended for Oman and the remaining 15,000 for neighboring markets in Yemen, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and elsewhere.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Workers assemble Iranian new car called Runna at Iran Khodro in Tehran.[/caption]

In their latest talks, al-Jaberi said India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and eastern Asia were the other likely destinations for exports from Duqm.

"IKCO's products would facilitate our access to Asian markets since Duqm enjoys appropriate grounds for car production," he said.

Iran Khodro is already producing 15,000 cars per year in Iraq, according to figures cited in the Iranian media.

Automotive industry, with a history of about five decades, is the second most active sector in Iran after oil and gas.

Iran Khodro accounted for about half of 1.6 million vehicles produced in Iran in 2011 before Western sanctions hit the sector.

The company has been producing French branded cars, with the Samand sedan having an indelible footprint not only on Iranian roads but those in Iraq, Syria and Azerbaijan.

Yekke-Zare said his company was targeting a production mark of three million vehicles for national and international markets.

Iran is the largest automotive market in the Middle East with its population of 80 million. The country sold 1.1 million cars last year, with new sales expected to reach 1.6 million in 2020, according to US research company IHS Automotive.

By Press TV