Mohsen Javan, the company’s Export Manager, told Fars that Saipa’s current assembly lines in Venezuela and Syria will become operational soon. The company has already built an assembly line near the Syrian capital, Damascus.

“Feasibility studies are underway on constructing three more assembly plants in North Africa and Central Asia,“ Javan said.

The company currently exports Saba, Nasim and Saipa 141 models to several Asian and African markets. It also markets products to Libya, Algeria and Sudan.

“Syria is our main target market,“ Javan added, saying the company also plans to export to Iraq.

Saipa exported $50 million worth of cars and auto parts since last March.

However, Javan said that regional crises, including the war waged by Israel against Lebanon which devastated that country last summer, hindered the company’s export to Middle Eastern markets. “We managed to export 2,200 cars to regional countries last month,“ he said.

Saipa, established in 1966, has assembled the two-cylinder Citroen mini passenger car, the Jyane, and manufactured licensed versions of the original Renault 5, Renault 21 and the Kia Pride.

Production of Saipa Pride continued until 2005 when it introduced an updated model called the Saipa 141 while continuing to sell the older version of the Pride under its new names, Saba and Nasim.

Saipa also manufactures the Citroen Xantia under license and assembles sedan models of the previous generation Kia Rio. The company’s latest product is the Citroen C5.

PIN/IRANDAILY