Iran Khodro dealers confirm that the new Peugeot 301 sedan is priced at 949 million rials ($24,973), and will be delivered to buyers in ten days.
The 301 model is assembled by IKCO under a joint-venture IKAP with the giant French automaker. However, the company has not said if the first models are locally produced, local website Asbe Bokhar reported.
The inflated price comes while Hashem Yekkezare, IKCO boss, had said in a TV interview that the car would cost 580 and 650 million rials ($15,263 and $17,105).
Nothing has been said about why the price has doubled. Market observers say the price hike could likely be due to the initial batch of cars being imported to Iran as completely built units (CBU).
From what is known, the policy of jacking up car prices without prior notice is the norm in the country not the exception. It has become customary for all car companies to blabber about lower prices and high quality on TV cameras. When launch time arrives the price story is completely different and always on the upside.
Peugeot's so-called 'low-cost sedan' was originally released overseas in late 2012. The vehicle is currently produced in Vigo in Spain, Kaduna in Nigeria and Wuhan in China.
According to the pictures published on the IKCO website, the 2016 version of the sedan has been imported.
Peugeot's 301 model has been on sale in Turkey for the past three years.
The car is 4,440 mm (174.8 in) in length, with a 2,650 mm (104.3 in) wheelbase and is powered by a range of three engines: a three-cylinder 1.2-litre VTi engine it shares with other smaller Peugeot models.
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