UANI

"ISACO Chief Executive Officer Behzad Zahiri...said that IKCO has not yet received any official announcement from Peugeot indicating a halt in their mutual cooperation...Currently 10 to 15 percent of spare parts required for IKCO cars are supplied by Peugeot. In case Peugeot stops spare part supply, the required parts could be easily replaced by domestic suppliers or suppliers from other countries. Last year, 37 percent of the needed...The French auto-manufacturing group PSA Peugeot Citroen has suspended operations at one of its factories in northeastern France because of a halt to shipments of spare parts from Iran. PSA Peugeot Citroen reportedly stopped its trade with Iran on February 20 after the enforcement of US-led sanctions against the Islamic Republic for its nuclear energy program. Iran was PSA Peugeot Citroen’s second-biggest market in 2011 in terms of trade volume" (PressTV, "ISACO ready to supply spare parts if Peugeot imposes sanctions," 4/19/12)

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"The Fars branch CEO Mohammad Javad Habibi said the company produces one car per hour and it is expected to exceed five units this year. The unit has produced 250 Peugeot Pars sedans since the beginning of the mass production. Roughly 100 employees are working in the company, while the increase of production would create 150 job opportunities in every working position.  The company is IKCO's fifth local production site, the total investment for which rose to almost 60,000,000 dollars.  Production capacity of IKCO in Fars exceeds 30 thousand cars in a year. All types of Peugeot 405 sedans are currently mass produced in the company."  (Payvand, "Iran Khodro's Fars branch to produce 15,000 Peugeot Pars," 4/15/12)

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"In March, General Motors said its French partner, PSA Peugeot Citroën, suspended shipments of vehicle components to an Iranian carmaker, in compliance with US laws governing trade with Iran. Peugeot supplied parts to Iran Khodro, the country's biggest carmaker... They also say it is likely Iran Khodro has considered replacing Peugeot with other suppliers, but do not rule out the short-term difficulties that such a supply disruption could cause." (Financial Times, "Iranian Car Industry Weathers Stormy Year," 5/8/2012)

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"An influential US anti-Iran lobby group on Wednesday called for newly tied General Motors and Peugeot to shut down Peugeot's Iran business due to Tehran's suspect nuclear program.  The United Against Nuclear Iran group said GM's new investment in PSA Peugeot Citroen should be investigated to see if it violates US sanctions on Iran, because of Peugeot's strong market position in the country. "As a working partner and now official stake-owner of Peugeot, GM owes it to its investors and customers to compel Peugeot into ending its business in Iran," said UANI head Mark Wallace, a former US ambassador to the United Nations.  "By doing business directly with the Iranian regime, Peugeot supports the regime's ability to develop its illegal nuclear weapons program, support terrorist proxies and repress the Iranian people." (AFP, "Anti-Iran lobby hits GM-Peugeot deal," 3/29/12)

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"General Motors Co. said Wednesday that its French partner, PSA Peugeot Citroen SA, has suspended shipments of vehicle components to an Iranian car maker, and that its alliance with Peugeot "is fully compliant with U.S. law governing trade with Iran." GM has faced criticism from United Against Nuclear Iran, a group founded by a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and others opposed to the Iranian regime for agreeing to buy a 7% stake in the French car maker, because Peugeot has in the past supplied parts to Iranian car maker Iran Khodro.  GM, in a statement, said "we have discussed this issue with Peugeot. We understand that they made the decision to suspend the production and shipment of material into Iran some time ago--before we entered into our alliance with them in fact--and have decided to continue with that suspension. Our agreement with them is fully compliant with US law governing trade with Iran, and is not intended to benefit Iran in any way." (Wall Street Journal, "GM Says Peugeot has 'Suspended' Shipments to Iranian Car Maker, " 3/28/12)

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As of 2007, Peugeot automobiles represent 64% of the cars manufactured by Iran Khodro Company, the largest automobile manufacturer in Iran (AFP, Iran car maker says French politics hampering ventures, 10/8/2008).

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GIANTS WITH A FOOT IN TEHRAN: Total, Shell, Statoil, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, MTN, UPS, Linde, Technip, Nokia, Ericsson, Peugeot, Renault, OMV, Societe Generale, ENI, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Siemens, LG, Samsung, Bosch, Valeo, Nestle, Unilever, BAT, Japan Tobacco. (The London Times, American pressure threatens UK firms, May 27, 2006)