French Renault readying to renew Iran exports

Chairman of the Renault SA (RNO) in Asia-Pacific region Gilles Normand said that the RNO is readying to resume the export of car parts to Iran. "We can start the preparatory work” with suppliers while “waiting for the go-ahead on the possibility to export parts to Iran,” Normand said in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Auto Industry International Conference held in the Iranian capital on Saturday. Such a move would require an opening of financial transactions channels with the country, he said. A preliminary agreement last month between Iran and the six world powers in Geneva allows for the lifting of some sanctions on the auto industry. "There is work to be done since the agreement was signed and clarification on the rules is expected around January 2014,” he said. “We are following an extremely pragmatic policy and respect international regulations.” Renault sold more than 100,000 vehicles, amounting to 10 percent of the Iranian market, in 2012, Normand said. He further said that the automaker’s activity in Iran was hurt this year by additional US sanctions against Tehran, which led the automaker to stop the export of car parts in June. Normand said he hoped the six-month accord, seen as a first step toward a final deal, will lead to “new overtures” toward the Iranian market. Iran’s market has “immense growth potential,” he said.