Iran, Türkiye, Russia consider launching joint car production

The head of Iran’s Association of automobile spare parts manufacturers, Muhammad Reza Najafi Manesh, has said that Iran, Türkiye, and Russia could launch a joint car project in the near future based on a proposal submitted to the three governments by private industries.

Najafi Manesh said that Turkish industries had first raised the idea of setting up a consortium with Iran and Russia to design and manufacture a joint car.

“The project was proposed by the Turks and the Russians have welcomed it,” Najafi Manesh was quoted as saying by the IRNA.

“This proposal has been submitted to the industry officials in the three countries and we believe the manufacturers have the capacity and the potential to realize the task,” he said.

The businessman said the project could benefit from parts manufacturing capacity in Türkiye as well as the design potential and manufacturing platforms in the Iranian and Russian automotive sectors.

He said international carmakers, including Renault, had set up similar projects in Iran and Russia which they abandoned following the imposition of Western sanctions on the two countries

Najafi Manesh said Russia has been looking to countries such as Iran and Türkiye in search of suppliers of cars and auto parts after it came under sanctions in February because of the war in Ukraine.

He said another advantage of the joint project could be an understanding between Iran, Russia, and Türkiye to bolster their banking ties to allow increased use of mutual currencies to settle payments between businesses.

Western automakers have ventured to Russia to assemble cars for the past two decades as the country’s economy is developing. But since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February, many automakers have stopped selling their cars or parts to Russia, including Audi, Honda, Jaguar and Porsche. Manufacturers that have halted Russian production include BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Iran and Türkiye share a land border, while Russia shares maritime borders with Iran and Türkiye across the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, respectively. Türkiye exports more than $12 billion worth of auto parts every year. Iran will be ranked the world’s 19th largest automaker in 2021, as stated by the International Organization of Automobile Manufacturers.