Iraq Business News brings you the latest on the Iraqi car market, with information on developments and opportunities.
By John Lee. The Deputy Managing Director of of Iranian vehicle maker Iran Khodro (IKCO) has said the company has chosen Iraq as a target market for its car exports, and opened a new showroom in Baghdad last week as a first step. Meqdad Mahmudi told Iran's IRNA news agency that both the Iraqi Oil […]
By John Lee. Iran Khodro (IKCO) has reportedly announced its intention to increase production at its Iraq plant from 50 cars a day to 100. The plant, in the central Iraqi city of Iskandariya, is IKCO’s largest car plant outside Iran. According to a report from Just Auto, a drop in transportation fees and a […]
By John Lee. Hurriyet Daily News reports that Doğuş Otomotiv, the automotive arm of Turkey’s Doğuş Holding, has said it has reached an agreement with Volkswagen and Audi to establish a company in Iraq. Doğuş Otomotiv will own 100 percent of the company that will deal with distribution and after-sale services for Volkswagen and Audi […]
By John Lee. Sulaymaniya's general directorate of investment has said that a local company called 'Mario' is building an automobile factory on a 22 hectare (90 donum) site. The company will initially import parts from China and assemble them at the new plant; at a later stage the factory will also make the parts itself, […]
Bloomberg reports that Iran Khodro, the country’s largest carmaker, plans to manufacture 30,000 cars at its production site in Iraq this year. The company is delivering components to the plant for assembly, mostly for the Samand sedan model (pictured). Operations at the plant, which has received investment from a local partner, started in 2011, the […]
Iranian carmaker Saipa is to build a car assembly plant in Iraq. The factory will have capacity to output as many as 120,000 cars per year if operated around the clock. Iran has developed its domestic car industry for five decades and produced 1.6 million vehicles last year, about half of them made by Iran […]
Bloomberg reports that Iraq is attracting the attention of global automakers including General Motors, Ford and Volkswagen. Western cars were shut out of the Iraqi market by sanctions during the Saddam Hussein era, and even today there are many old VW Passats that were shipped to Iraq from Brazil between 1983 and 1990 in exchange […]
The 'Iraqi Automobile Industry Company' [State Company for Automotive Industry] has reportedly signed a contract with the South Korean company Hyundai to manufacture and assemble Hyundai cars. The contract, worth with 44 billion Iraqi dinars [$36 million], involves the production of 2000 saloon cars annually. The manufacturing line is to be completed within three years. […]
Fox News reports that General Motors (GM) sold approximately 35,000 vehicles in Iraq last year. The company's Global Communications Officer, Klaus-Peter Martin, told Fox that the number was up from just 1,000 vehicles five years ago. General Motors manages the Middle East region from an office in Dubai, and markets its cars and trucks in Iraq […]
Iraq’s state-owned General Company for Car Manufacturing, which belongs to the Ministry of Industry & Minerals, has signed a contract with the Chinese Proton Company, to assemble and market 1,000 cars annually. According to the report from Aswat al-Iraq, the Iskandariya-based company has also signed a contract with the Teachers Syndicate to supply teachers with […]
By next year, car companies must open branches in Iraq if they want to sell cars in the country, the Trade Ministry announced on Sunday. Currently, cars are imported through agents in neighboring Gulf States. AKnews reports that these intermediate imports will be prohibited by the end of the year. With the new law, the […]
Iraq's Industry Minister, Ahmad Nasser al-Karbouli [Ahmed Nassar Dali al-Karbouli, Ahmad Nader Dali], unveiled a plan on Tuesday to assemble nine brands of vehicles in Iraq. "The Industry Ministry has a plan to sign eight agreements to assemble vehicles of different brands, including Hyundai and Cherry, in addition to manufacturing car batteries and tires," al-Karbouli […]
