Saipa, Iran's second largest carmaker, and Chinese auto group Brilliance have officially started their joint production line in Karaj, west of Tehran.
New auto manufacturing lines for the Chinese brand were inaugurated on Tuesday. The event was attended by the president of Brilliance Auto Group, Qi Yumin, Donyaye Khodro reported.
During the opening ceremony, the assembly lines for the brand's small sedan H220 and the compact hatchback H320 were unveiled.
Business potentials are rich in Iran's market, Qi said adding that "the auto manufacturing infrastructure is ideal and can be complemented with more technologies needed to help improve production."
During the ceremony, the official noted that with the help of Saipa, Brilliance Auto Group wishes to establish itself in the region and create a central manufacturing and distribution hub in Iran.
The teaming between the two companies is a major step towards the goal.
"We look forward to the future of this partnership and hope to achieve our goals of manufacturing quality products and meeting customer demand both locally and in the region," Qi said.
Over the past four years, the Iranian market has been flooded with several models of Chinese cars, including Lifan, Chery, JAC, and Geely. When asked by IRNA how he thinks his company can compete in a market already saturated with Chinese vehicles, Qi refused to comment on his Chinese counterparts; however, he assured Iranian buyers that Brilliance is of decent quality compared to other brands.
Brilliance has been exporting to more than 80 countries worldwide. Also, BMW and Brilliance have been collaborating for over 10 years in China, the company manufactures BMW3 and 5 series as well the X1 small SUV. The company has also made mini vans with Toyota technology since the early 1990s.
Saipa is set to manufacture an estimated 60,000 Brilliance cars by the end of next year (ends March 2017).
Qi refused to comment on the amount they will be investing in Iran, but Saipa's director general Saeed Madani had said that their Chinese counterpart had invested $60 million for starting the production lines.
