In a statement published on SAIPA-Citroen’s website, the joint venture between the French automotive firm and its Iranian partner once again reassured customers that the presold C3 cars will be delivered.
In an initial offering on May 16, SAIPA-Citroen pre-sold 2,000 units of its small city hatchback C3s in Iran. The vehicles were to be delivered in August; however, seemingly bottlenecked auto parts imports have hampered the JV’s production lines.
SAIPA and Citroen signed a 50-50 joint venture in late 2016 under which the Paris-based carmaker was to invest more than €300 million ($352 million) in Iran.
After US President Donald Trump pulled the country out of the historic Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions against Tehran, Citroen’s parent company PSA Group announced that it has decided to suspend its operations in the country.
However, PSA has repeatedly outlined measures which have been adopted so as to deliver the cars they earlier presold in Iran before they are forced to fully put on hold their activities in the country.
It is yet to be seen whether Citroen would be able to deliver on its word or not.
According to an earlier press release, over 44,000 car enthusiasts tried to register in the pre-sale, while the company had only 2,000 units on offer. The vehicle was offered through online sales website Iran e-Car, with buyers being charged 600 million rials ($4,411) as a down payment.
Apologizing for the delay, the company says it will do all in its power to deliver the C3s as soon as possible.
The C3 is a small city hatchback produced in the central city of Kashan, which is equipped with a six-speed automatic gearbox and a 1.6-liter turbo four-cylinder engine with a 163hp output.
It meets Euro 5 emission standards and was initially unveiled in 2002 in France. The latest version of the car introduced in 2016 is sold in Iran.
