Ali Momeni, sales manager of the JV says, “So far, 700 Citroen C3s have been produced and production would continue as planned,” saipanews.com reported.
In May 2018 when the JV, aka as SAIPA-Citroen, launched a limited presale of the model, 2,000 applicants paid 600 million rials ($5,600) in advance for the new car. Early last week media reports said SAIPA had priced the locally made Citroen C3 at 2.4 billion rials ($22,400). The same car costs 2.9 billion rials ($27,100) on the car dealership website bama.ir.
C3 is a small city hatchback equipped with a six-speed automatic gearbox and a 1.6-liter turbo four-cylinder engine with a 163hp output. It meets Euro 5 emission standards and was first unveiled in 2002 in France. The latest version of the car, introduced in 2016, is made in Iran. In addition to the Citroen badge, the vehicle in Iran will carry the SAIPA-Citroen badge in Persian, according to Financial Tribune.
SAIPA and Citroen signed a 50-50 joint venture in late 2016 under which the Paris-based carmaker was to invest €300 million ($352 million) in Iran. After US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions, Citroen’s parent company PSA Group panicked and decided to suspend operations in Iran.
However, PSA has often outlined measures to deliver the cars it presold before being forced to fully put on hold their activities in the country. It is yet to be seen whether Citroen is able and willing to uphold its commitment.
The verified account of the JV on Instagram posted pictures of a special ceremony in Tehran during which the new cars were delivered to buyers.
The firm earlier said it has enough spare parts to provide customers with adequate after-sales services and that 36 containers carrying C3 parts have been imported.