Iran Threatens To Bankrupt Peugeot

Cammy Corrigan
by Cammy Corrigan

With sanctions piling up against Iran because of their nuclear ambitions, Iran is getting more and more isolated on the world stage. They need to assert their authority and let the world know they won’t be pushed around. And they may have found a way of doing it according to the Iranian Student’s News Agency (ISNA).

Autoevolution reports that the ISNA has put forward a story that’s quite bizarre. They claim that Peugeot’s Iranian subsidiary has received a few bankruptcy related threats from the Iranian government. The Iranians are threatening to stop the import of spare parts for cars. If that were to happen Peugeot Iran would have to declare bankruptcy, the Iranian government claimed. “If we decide, we can bring Peugeot company to bankruptcy. If we stop the importation of spare parts from Peugeot tomorrow, the company’s sales will drop by 2.5 billion dollars,” said Mohammad Reza Rahimi, Iran’s Vice President, “If we just raise our eyebrows, a part of the French auto industry will collapse”. Peugeot produces the 405 and 206 models in a joint venture with Iran Khodro.

Iran doesn’t report production data to OICA, but production by Iran Khodro is estimated at 600,000 units. Iran Khodro also has a joint venture with Renault and Mercedes. Curiously, these two companies remained unmentioned. If the Iran would stop importing parts, it would hurt Peugeot, but won’t bring it down. Iran also imports large amounts of parts from China. Even with China, there are problems. The world trades in U.S. dollars, and Iran increasingly has problems getting dollars and getting them out of the country – or so they say. Having no parts also has a small, but inconvenient side-effect: The car won’t drive. A small part of the French auto industry may collapse, along with a large part of the Iranian traffic.

This may needs a little more thought, Mr Rahimi. Until then, I’ll file this story until “WTF”, ok…?

Cammy Corrigan
Cammy Corrigan

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  • John Horner John Horner on Oct 12, 2010

    Iran seems to like putting out "we will destroy you!" threats of all sorts.

  • Stingray Stingray on Oct 12, 2010

    I checked ISNA site last night and found nothing. Then I remembered that this hurts IKCo BADLY, they export the 405, 206, Pars and others to Middle East countries, Egypt, Russia... If the government "kills" Peugeot Iran, guess what will happen with those exports and the very much needed currency they bring. Follow the route of the money or currency.

  • MaintenanceCosts People who don't use the parking brake when they walk away from the car deserve to have the car roll into a river.
  • 3-On-The-Tree I’m sure they are good vehicles but you can’t base that on who is buying them. Land Rovers, Bentley’ are bought by Robin Leaches’s “The Rich and Famous” but they have terrible reliability.
  • SCE to AUX The fix sounds like a bandaid. Kia's not going to address the defective shaft assemblies because it's hard and expensive - not cool.
  • Analoggrotto I am sick and tired of every little Hyundai Kia Genesis flaw being blown out of proportion. Why doesn't TTAC talk about the Tundra iForce Max problems, Toyota V35A engine problems or the Lexus 500H Hybrid problems? Here's why: education. Most of America is illiterate, as are the people who bash Hyundai Kia Genesis. Surveys conducted by credible sources have observed a high concentration of Hyundai Kia Genesis models at elite ivy league universities, you know those places where students earn degrees which earn more than $100K per year? Get with the program TTAC.
  • Analoggrotto NoooooooO!
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