France’s Renault Signs MoU to Establish Sales Centers in Iran

The agreement was inked in Paris on Friday on the sidelines of the 2016 Paris Motor Show with Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines, and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh and senior officials of the French automaker, including CEO Carlos Ghosn, in attendance.

The head of the IDRO, Mansour Moazzami, and the deputy CEO of Renault have signed the agreement to establish a joint venture which will pave the way for a more active presence of the French company in Iran.

According to the MoU, Renault, jointly with the IDRO Group, will set up an automobile factory and sales and after-sales service centers in Iran for the first time.

Iran’s automotive industry is the second largest industry of the country, after its oil and gas, accounting for 10% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The industry is expected to grow significantly after Iran and six world powers on July 14, 2015 reached a conclusion over the text of a comprehensive deal on Tehran’s nuclear program and started implementing the agreement on January 16.

The nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) terminated all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran.