C3 First Joint Product of SAIPA, Citroen

SAIPA has taken the covers off its joint venture with Citroen, announcing that the first car to roll off the production line will be the Citroen C3 hatchback.

The joint venture created at the end of 2016 allots a 50% share to both firms, ISNA reported.

According to SAIPA Group CEO Mehdi Jamali, the first C3 models will delivered to customers by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2018).

“A new product in Iran’s automotive industry is being produced in collaboration with the French company Citroen,” Jamali said without elaborating further.

Unnamed SAIPA-Citroen French executives confirmed to Financial Tribune that the C3 will be ready in the third quarter of the Iranian year.

Chief executives of PSA Group’s Citroen and SAIPA held a joint press conference in February during which the director, Linda Jackson, said Citroen is aiming to claim a 30% share of Iran’s auto market by 2021.