Local carmaker Kerman Motor unveiled its first locally produced Hyundai Accent during Norouz (the Iranian New Year holidays from March 21 to April 2).
The company showed the car on March 24 during a ceremony attended by First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri, the government’s news website Dolat.ir reported.
The vehicle was previously assembled from completely knocked down kits. Now 25% of the parts used in the vehicle are domestically produced.
During the event, Mohammad Reza Shahbakhsh, CEO of Kerman Motor said his company hopes to increase the share of locally manufactured parts in the Accent over time.
Under a joint venture signed in March 2017, Kerman Motor produces three Hyundai models namely i10, i20 and Accent in the city of Bam in the central Kerman Province.
The local producer will soon launch assembly lines of two other Hyundai models, Elantra and Tucson. Elantra’s production is expected to start by September and Tucson in June 2019. The Iranian carmaker also collaborates with Chinese companies JAC and Lifan.
Kerman Motor is Iran’s second largest private automotive company and has a 3.9% share of the auto market.
During the 11 months to Feb. 20, the company produced and assembled 687 units of i10, 4,758 units of i20, and 1,115 units of Accent, which accounted for 12.7% of its total output of 51,315 units.
The Kerman-based company reported a 21.5% year-on-year growth during the period.
