Operations Review - ChartNexus

Operations Review
Iran
Performance and Operations
PROTON’s presence in Iran began in 2001 with the appointment of Zagross Khodro (ZK)
first as a distributor and subsequently, assembler of PROTON vehicles in the country. ZK
started with the CBU import initially and seeing its potential, invested extensively in the
sales and after-sales network throughout the country.
Due to the company’s strong commitment and trust in the PROTON brand, ZK took a bold
step by establishing a CKD assembly plant in the Borujerd province, approximately 400km
south of Tehran, with production capacity up to 25,000 units a year.
The plant started with the assembly of the Wira in 2002 and thereafter began producing the
Gen.2 in May 2009. The targeted volume for the Gen.2 production will be approximately
3,000 units in the new financial year and we expect this to double in fiscal year 2011.
In addition to the partnership with ZK, PROTON also entered into a strategic collaboration
agreement with the SAIPA Group, one of the biggest automotive manufacturers in Iran.
The collaboration enables PROTON to explore opportunities in other areas such as research
and development.
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Prospects
The new financial year will see PROTON’s market presence being further strengthened in
Iran with CKD operations to include the production of the Persona. With Total Industry
Volume (TIV) of more than 1.2 million vehicles annually, Iran has the potential to become
one of the major export markets for PROTON in the coming years.