Iran’s largest auto manufacturer, Iran Khodro Company, has partnered up with MAHLE GmbH, one of the largest automotive suppliers worldwide, to design and manufacture a turbo straight-three engine.
CEO of IKCO Hashem Yekezare said this deal will reduce the technological gap between Iran’s automotive industry and its counterparts.
“Adequate measures have been taken to import the technology, so that IKCO will be able to sustain the production of the engine autonomously in the future,” Yekezare said at the signing ceremony held on Wednesday, IRINN reported.
According to the CEO, the new engine, with 120-160 HP and 285 N torque, is likely to achieve the Euro 6 emission standards.
He also said three other modern engines are being designed independently by IKCO’s engineers.
These models will be designed by Iran Khodro Powertrain Company (IPCO).
In the first phase of the project, 5,000 billion rials ($142 million) will be invested, part of which will be provided by the Stuttgart-based company.
Yekezare said a design and production line is expected to be established in 30 months.
Speaking at the same ceremony, Mostafa Mirsalim, director of IPCO, said “One of our major concerns is to produce cars that are less pollutant and more efficient. This will enable us to produce vehicles that are affordable and can compete with foreign products in international markets.”
The new product is a straight-three turbo engine, also known as an inline-triple. It is a reciprocating piston internal combustion engine with three cylinders arranged in a straight line.
A turbocharger is a turbine-driven forced induction device that increases an internal combustion engine’s efficiency and power output by forcing extra air into the combustion chamber.
MAHLE GmbH is an automotive parts manufacturer based in Stuttgart, Germany. The company is one of the three largest systems suppliers worldwide for engine systems, filtration, electrics, mechatronics and thermal management.
In 2014, Mahle GmBH sales amounted to nearly €10 billion.
In recent weeks, several deals were signed between Iranian and foreign automakers. These deals can be used as an opportunity to boost the of profile Iran’s auto industry in international markets.
