Iran exports Samand to Switzerland

Iranian carmaker Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) is to export a batch of its Samand cars to Switzerland, an official with the company has said.

“The first batch of eight Samand cars is to be exported to Switzerland after the Iranian-made car managed to pass all necessary tests based on Euro IV standards,” the deputy head of IKCO for exports and international affairs Alireza Fayz-bakhsh said Saturday.

He added that IKCO is to sign long-term contracts with Swiss officials after studies and negotiations regarding the car marketing and after sale services are carried out.

The Middle East’s largest automaker announced earlier in 2009 that the company had produced 58,000 more vehicles during the Iranian year that ended March 20.

IKCO currently produces vehicles under 11 different brand names. The company also manufactures various vehicle models in seven countries across the globe.

New products of IKCO such as the private passenger Samand, the wheelchair-accessible Samand, the R90, a second generation LNG-powered 7-seat van, and the new dual-fuel Peugeot sedan 470 were inaugurated earlier at the country’s largest international auto exhibition in Mashhad and will soon be available to consumers.

The astonishing performance of IKCO comes as many car manufacturers in the world have been forced to suspend or cut production in the face of falling sales due to the global economic downturn.