Teymouri said on Wednesday that the company hopes its Saina and Quik models can become popular in Russia, a country where other Iranian-made models have been successful in the past two years.
“With the analysis provided by Saipa’s Russian partners, the possibility for success of Saina and Quik is very high in this market,” said Teymouri while speaking to Iran’s IRNA news agency in a car show in the Russian capital Moscow.
He said Saipa plans to supply 90,000 units of the Quik model to Russian customers in the next three years.
The official said exports can start within a month and after the required permits are issued by Russian authorities.
Saipa and Iran’s largest carmaker IKCO have expanded their presence in the Russian car market since early 2022 when major international automotive companies left the country because of Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, Press TV reported.
Russian authorities have invited carmakers from China and Iran to fill the gap and use the infrastructure left behind by those companies.
Teymouri said Saipa had taken over two large dealership and services centers in Moscow and one in Minsk, Belarus, that were formerly offering services to Honda and Hyundai cars.