BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

30/07/2006

Samand assembly line to be operational in Belarus in August

The second assembly line for manufacturing 'Samand' automobiles will be operational in Minsk in August, said the Managing Director of Iran's giant manufacturing company Iran-Khodro Industrial Group here Saturday .

Manouchehr Manteqi said the plant is the result of a joint investment by 'Unison' company and Iran-Khodro.

He added the plant production capacity is 6,000 cars annually.

Gradually with the increasing demand in the country and other regional states the plan calls for increasing the production capacity to 60,000 annually, he added.

"We intend to use Belarus as a regional hub for production which will also exports cars to Russia, Armenia and Western Europe including Poland."

He said the assembly line will be instrumental in transfer of technology from Iran to Belarus and boosting bilateral industrial and trade ties between the two nations.

'Samand' trade name is now registered at the World Intellectual Property Rights Organization (WIPO).

"The group is the first Iranian company whose product is registered at the WIPO," he added.

The state will ensure against the fraudulent use of the name, industrial design, and copying of the product manufactured by the company worldwide.

He said given the company's emphasis to promote exports, its new Samand manufacturing plants in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Syria herald a new chapter in the company's future.

Meanwhile, The Director for Asia and Pacific region of Iran-Khodro said here last month that Bangladesh and Pakistan have ordered over 5,000 gas-powered Samand models with right-hand steering-wheels.

He also reckoned that given the financial capability of South Asian markets and competitive advantage that Iran enjoys, the company can gain a foothold in these markets in a relatively short period of time.

"Iran-Khodro can with a cohesive and detailed planning gain a share of the market."

The company has other automobile production ventures with foreign countries and companies in a bid to market share for increase exports to regional markets.

200 Samand models have already been exported to Russia since the start of 2006

Source:

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-237/0607301945010423.htm

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