Volkswagen grooms Skoda for Iran market

Germany’s Volkswagen is grooming its Skoda brand for the Iranian market of 80 million people who bought 1.1 million cars last year.

“Iran is a very interesting market with great opportunities,” VW brand R&D chief Heinz-Jakob Neusser has said.

VW will conclude an assessment of the country’s auto market by the end of the year, Reuters quoted him as saying at the Frankfurt auto show.

Neusser said it is still too early to say which product VW could use to go in with “but of course we see the potential”.

Reuters quoted a company source as saying that VW was considering a move into Iran with the mass-market Skoda and Seat brands.

Volkswagen is hit by a drop in demand in China and Brazil which together account for almost 40% of its global sales, and Iran offers a new market which the car manufacturer seeks to tap.

Czech division Skoda is similarly looking at the prospects for entering Iran, its R&D chief Frank Welsch said.