The Volkswagen do Brasil-designed and manufactured Gol compact car is now assembled in Iran from CKD kits by Bam Auto Manufacturing Company (BamCo), a subsidiary of Kerman Automotive Industries Co, in a plant in the Special Economic Zone of Arg-e-Jadid, near the city of Bam.
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Initially, BamCo is assembling the five-door Gol with 1.8-litre eight-valve petrol engine, air conditioning, power steering, front airbags, plus power windows and locks. To cope with the higher temperatures in Iran, the locally assembled Gol also has a second radiator.
Other models may be added in the coming years, depending on development of the Iranian market.
Volkswagen do Brasil said that all parts for the Iranian-assembled Gol are supplied in CKD kits sent from Brazil.
The body comes from the Taubaté plant while the engine and transmission came from VW’s São Bernardo do Campo plant. Others parts are supplied by Brazilian manufacturers. Volkswagen do Brazil also supervised the installation of the assembly line and trained the BamCo workers.
Bamco was founded in 1994 and currently employs about 800 people.
The Iranian-assembled Gol is sold through an exclusive dealer network owned by Modiran Pars Co., also a Kerman subsidiary. Initially, there will be over 70 outlets located in urban centres.
Iran is the second to buy Brazilian Gol CKD kits. About 20,000 cars are assembled each year by Shanghai Volkswagen but they have some locally produced parts.
Introduced in Brazil in 1980, the Gol is the most exported car in Brazilian automotive history. To the end of last year, 500,000 units had been exported. The model is currently sold in over 20 countries and it is the best-selling car in Brazil (for 18 years so far), Argentina and Uruguay.
In Mexico, where it is sold as the Pointer, the car is the second most popular model
The Gol is also badged Pointer for Russia where it has been sold sold since last year.
Rogério Louro
