Tata Motors appears to be the latest to jump on the expanding relations with Iran and may set up an assembly plant in the nation and produce a range of its cars for the local market. The Mumbai-based automaker is believed to be talks with Iran Khrodo, the leading national automobile manufacturer in the country.
This is expected to be a CKD operation where Khrodo will assemble the cars but still carry the Tata badges. This will include the Tata Bolt, Zest, Tiago and possibly the Xenon, as pickup trucks are quite popular in Iran. All these are expected to be petrol only models. Tata is also expected to use the Iranian manufacturer’s sales and service network.
Tata has so far refused to comment on this issue but we expect an announcement for the same very soon. Iran Khrodo is the leading automobile manufacturer in Iran and makes vehicles for automakers like Renault, Peugeot, Suzuki and Samand. It has been in operations since 1962 and accounts for nearly 65 per cent of the vehicles produced in Iran.
