Foreign, homemade models on show at Iran's first car
fair
TEHRAN, Sept 2 (AFP) - French, South Korean and Iranian-made
cars were on display along with vintage American automobiles Thursday
as Iran's first international automobile fair opened its doors in Tehran.
The fair, to show off Iranian cars and those made in cooperation
with Iran as well as older US models, will run until Monday, said Gholam
Hossein Ebrahim, managing director of international affairs for Iran Khodro,
which has 65 percent of the country's car market.
Iranians and a thousand manufacturers were expected to throng to the
fair, which is displaying Luxury Cadillacs and Dodges from the 1940s and
1950s for the first time in many years.
Peugeot, which has had a strong presence in Iran for several years,
is presenting its Iranian-made 405, along with its 206 and 905.
The 405 was built for the Iranian market.
The two most common cars in Iran are the Peykan, a British Hillman
that has been made here for 40 years, and the Pride, made by South Korea's
Kia.
The Saipa, modeled after the small Renault 5 is also on display at
the fair.
Daewoo of South Korea, which has been in the Iranian market for five
years, plans to begin production soon of some of its models in the
southern city of Kerman. Iranian Industries Minister Gholamreza Shafei
has said that Iran will increase production from 200,000 cars a year currently
to half a million a year in 2003.
There are an estimated three million vehicles in Iran, 80 percent
of them dating to before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
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