Tehran: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad opened yesterday what is being dubbed as the Middle East's biggest car plant set up by Iranian state-run automobile company Saipa, the official IRNA news agency reported.
IRNA said the plant, "the biggest" in the Middle East and located in the central city of Kashan, would manufacture 150,000 vehicles annually.
The facility, built at a cost of around $350 million (Dh1.3 billion), would in full production offer direct employment to 4,000 people and launch a slew of locally designed sedans and small cars, called the Tiba (Deer).
Tiba, marketed as entirely domestically built, was unveiled by Ahmadinejad yesterday and is priced between $8,000 and $9,000, mainly targeting lower middle-class buyers.
"This is the first Iranian vehicle with Iranian characteristics as it is designed and manufactured by Iranians," the president was quoted as saying on the state-run television website.
"Tiba is the symbol of our confidence in ourselves ... The Iranian nation has shown that despite sanctions and pressures from enemies, we have resisted and have progressed."
Ahmadinejad told the gathering at the inaugural ceremony that Iranian car manufacturers must increase the performance of locally made vehicles.
"The quality of our cars should be such that if an Iranian wants to buy a vehicle, he must prefer home-made ones," Ahmadinejad said.
Iran is the largest automobile manufacturer in the Middle East with more than 1.4 million vehicles produced last year.
In 2009, Saipa was the leading car producer in Iran, manufacturing 54 per cent of the vehicles produced.
State-run Iran Khodro produced the rest, according to official figures.
Both companies have technical tie-ups with leading French and South Korean automobile manufacturers such as Peugeot, Renault and KIA.
Saipa has tie-ups with KIA and Renault, while Iran Khodro collaborates with Peugeot.
