Sernauto officials visited the headquarters of Iran Khodro on Friday, the IKCO press office reported.
The Director of Sernauto José Portilla and the Spanish Ambassador Eduardo Lopez Busquets were present at the meetings, Financial Tribune reported.
According to Busquets, “Spanish parts makers want to expand their presence in the local automotive sector through joint ventures.”
During the meeting Portilla said, “Spanish parts makers are present in Japan, the US, China, Mexico and Morocco.”
Now it seems that the Spaniards are trying to secure a foothold in the Middle East car industry.
Over the past several months, IKCO has forged several deals with foreign companies like Peugeot to expand its products and upgrade its aging industrial infrastructure.
However one of the main hurdles in the way of foreign deals has been the state of the local parts industry. The technology used by the local supply chain is outdated — with a few exemptions — and the lack of investment has emerged as one major problem.
In case the Spanish part makers sign a deal with local firms, they would have to meet requirements by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade which stipulates knowledge transfer to Iranian partners.
Furthermore, the rulings require foreign firms to directly invest in Iran and assist local producers in upgrading their production platforms via technology transfer. Furthermore, a part of the JV products should be exported via the foreign firms’ international sales network.