Renault Asked to Set Up R&D Center

The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade welcomes Renault’s presence in Iran but insists the company also set up an R&D center, an informed source told Financial Tribune’s sister publication Donya-e-Eqtesad. 

The French carmaker signed a production agreement with Iran’s Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO) last autumn. 

Experts say the deal has given Renault more space to maneuver independently compared to Iran’s other foreign automotive partners. In return, the Industries Ministry has said Renault also execute major projects such as setting up the R&D center. Such conditions do not apply to other foreign partners such as Peugeot.

The first car manufactured jointly by IDRO and Renault will be in the market later this year. The two sides have agreed to jointly produce the Renault Symbol, Duster and Kwid models.

A memorandum of understanding was signed last September to establish a joint venture partnership to produce 150,000 cars per year in Iran.

Renault used to sell 10,000 cars in Iran every month till 2013 before international sanctions were tightened. After that the company hardly produced 3,000 vehicles a month.