Iranian car to be produced in Egypt
A model of Pars car produced by Iran's Iran Khodro Auto Company
The production line of Iran's Pars vehicles, with an initial production capacity of five thousand cars, was launched in Cairo yesterday.
In the inauguration ceremony, attended by Iran's minister of industries ad mines, Ali Akbar Mehrabian, and a number of high-ranking Egyptian officials and parliament members, Iran's deputy minister of industries and mines, Mahdi Mofidi said, "It is a privilege for Iran's auto industry to start this cooperative enterprise with Egypt.”
Iran's auto industry produced 1.1 million private cars and 100 thousand commercial vehicles last year, Mofidi said, adding that this initial step in the field of auto manufacturing would hopefully lead to negotiations between the two countries on further cooperation in joint production of commercial vehicles, rolling stock and railroad equipment in the future.
Terming the launch of the production line in Egypt an auspicious beginning, Mehrabian hoped for further industrial ties between the two countries.
Manouchehr Manteqi, managing director of Iran's leading auto-manufacturing company, Iran Khodro, who was present in the inauguration ceremony, spoke on his company's production plans, saying that it will have produced 700 thousand vehicles by the end of the current year, with plans to take the number to 1 million in 2009.
“Of the Islamic countries' 100 leading companies, Iran Khodro ranked 24th in 2006, with sales amounting to $8 billion, a place that would be elevated to 6th if oil companies were not included in the reckoning,” Manteqi said.
Referring to Egypt's industrial capabilities among Arab countries, Manteqi stated that Iran Khodro was planning to expand its operations in that country on a truly competitive basis, and expressed his company's interest in transferring its manufacturing know-how to other Islamic countries.
Iran's minister of industries and mines used the occasion to meet with his Egyptian counterpart, Rashid Mohammad Rashid, and discussed prospects for expansion of bilateral cooperation in economic and industrial fields with him.
MMM/GM
