PARIS, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The French automotive group Renault announced on Monday the signing of a joint venture in Iran with capacity of 150,000 vehicles a year.
The deal was signed between Renault and two Iranian partners.
"We are happy to sign this agreement with IDRO and PARTO NEGIN NASEH Co. In a rapidly expanding Iranian market, it was vital to implement plants, engineering and purchasing centre. This joint venture will enable an acceleration of our growth in this country," said Thierry Bollore, Member of Groupe Renault Executive Committee and Chief Competitive Officer.
According to French media, this joint venture will involve an investment of 660 million euros.
The group said in a statement that the proposed joint venture company, of which Renault will be the majority shareholder though with a first period of joint control with IDRO and PARTO NEGIN NASEH Co., will include an engineering and purchasing center to support the development of local suppliers. And its annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles will be supplementary to Groupe Renault's existing capacity of 200,000 vehicles a year in the country.
The first vehicles to be produced at the plant will be new Symbol and new Duster, the statement said, adding that the industrial site is located in Saveh, 120 km from Tehran.
Renault Group has been present in Iran since 2003 through a joint venture with SAIPA and IRAN KHODRO. Renault and its Iranian partners have produced 500,000 vehicles to date. In 2016, the Group's sales increased by 110.7 percent compared with 2015 to a total of 108,536 vehicles, which took a market share of 8.4 percent.