Russian GAZ eyes van assembly in Iran

Russia's second biggest car producer GAZ and Iran's leading automobile manufacturer Iran Khodro Diesel plan to soon draft a joint project to produce Russian vans in Iran, a GAZ spokeswoman said yesterday. "We have agreed to set up working groups in the nearest future to work out in detail terms of a joint project to assemble Gazel minibuses in Iran," she said.

She said a date for the production launch had not yet been set, but the plant would assemble 3,000 Gazel vans in the first year, 7,000 vans in the second year and up to 10,000 in the third year. Further output would depend on demand. The spokeswoman said GAZ and Iran Khodro started working on the project in 1999, but declined to give an estimated cost or any other details of the project. Iran Khodro Diesel produces trucks and buses, she said.