IKCO plans to produce fuel-efficient pickup by year end

Iran’s auto manufacturer, Iran Khodro Co. (IKCO), is planning to produce a new fuel-efficient pickup in the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2012).

Mir Javad Soleimani, the IKCO vice-president for quality and product, said that the new pickup is to be built on the Peugeot 405 platform and that the company will start the mass production of the product in the first quarter of 2013.

Soleimani added that a 1700cc CNG-based OHVG2 engine, which is a modified version of the previous OHVG that meets the Euro IV standard requirements, will be installed on the pickup.

Enjoying a spacious interior space, the new IKCO pickup is also equipped with air-conditioning, power steering and ABS, according to the official, who added that 30,000 units of the vehicle will be produced next year.

Founded in 1962, the Iranian car producer, IKCO, is currently regarded as one of the leading automakers in the Middle East.

ICKO won an award from Tehran’s Third International Nanotechnology Festival in 2010, as the leading company in nano-related auto industry.

In its five-year future growth prospective, the company envisions reaching an annual manufacturing capacity of three million units, with exports of a million units per year.