Iran Khodro to make new low-cost car

Iranian Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) plans to present eight new cars, including a new low-cost passenger car to substitute Paykan, within the next two to five years.

The automaker plans to present eight new products within the next five years “in order to gain more domestic and international market shares and to meet customers’ demands,” a statement from the company quoted CEO Javad Najmeddin as saying.

He further explained that two out of these eight new cars would be designed and manufactured on new platforms, in A or B class.

He estimated the cost of the newly designed car to be around eight to ten thousand dollars.

“The design and manufacturing of an eight thousand dollar passenger car that covers all modern standards is a difficult and complicated process,” Najmeddin pointed out.

“IKCO is to present a high quality car, covering standards costing eight to ten thousand dollars.”

Paykan was one of the company’s first and most popular productions but was phased out in 2006 and the IKCO has been trying to produce an equally popular substitute, the statement added.

IKCO was founded in 1962 and is currently regarded as the biggest automaker in the Middle East.

The automaker made 688,000 passenger cars in 2009, which showed a 13-percent growth in the manufacturer’s turnout despite the global economic crisis, according to a statement in August.

IKCO has received a special trophy at the Third International nanotechnology Festival, 2010, as the leading company in nano-related auto industry.