Sixteen top foreign car manufacturing firms, including Volvo, Scania, Peugeot, Fiat and Kia, will be participating in Iran's First International Automotive Exhibition and the Third Iran International Automotive Conference, the secretary of the events said.
At a press conference held at the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade on Monday, Sasan Qorbani added that five Chinese firms are among the participating firms.
Qorbani noted that 14 foreign firms took part in last year's event, most of which were Chinese, IRNA reported.
Along with state-led carmakers Iran Khodro Company and SAIPA, six Iranian automotive firms from the private sector will also be present.
Other notable foreign companies to take part this year are Daimler, Isuzu, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen.
Qorbani announced that four memoranda of understanding are to be signed between Iran's Auto Parts Manufacturers Association and their counterparts from Turkey, France, Britain and India.
"The MoUs will focus on how to prepare the needed infrastructures for future cooperation," he said.
He added that Renault will also be holding a meeting with Iranian auto parts manufacturers to plan development and production operations in Iran.
The official pointed to the importance of "competitiveness" as one of the key highlights of the event.
"Increasing customer satisfaction is one of the most important factors for boosting competitiveness. This can be attained by improving production quality and after-sales services, and by implementing better pricing schemes for cars," he said.
Qorbani noted that "flexibility in production and timely delivery of vehicles" are also effective in increasing competitiveness and will be discussed in the conference.
Amirhossein Qanati, executive board member at SAIPA, said 15 specialized meeting have also been scheduled.
"The meetings will focus on a range of issues such as investment models, opportunities for cooperation, advanced technologies, commercial vehicles, environment and social corporate responsibilities," he said.
Foreign companies that have so far been negotiating a deal to set up a joint venture in Iran include VW, Mercedes Benz, Fiat, Volvo, Isuzu and Mazda.
The Third Iran International Automotive Conference will be hosting 359 Iranian and 121 foreign automotive firms this year. The event is scheduled for February 29-March 1.
This year's event is expected to garner a lot of attention from international companies and dealmakers, especially due to the end of western sanctions against Iran and the domestic sector's potential.
