Renault-Nissan is prepared to resume vehicle assembly in Iran as soon as international sanctions are lifted, according to group CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Ghosn told reporters on the sidelines of the Detroit show Iran is a very promising market, with sales potentially rising from the current 1m units per year to up to 2m units when the economy is running normally.

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Vehicle production in the country peaked at 1.6m units in 2011, before crippling sanctions were imposed.

The Renault-Nissan CEO suggested car ownership in the country is currently at 100 units per 1,000 people, six times lower than in Europe. Current sanctions have limited the availability of cars to Iranian consumers in recent years and forced Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen to abandon the market.

Separate reports last year, quoting an industry insider, suggested Renault-Nissan had been in talks to re-establish its strategic alliance with state-owned automaker Pars Khodro.

Historic sanctions end to create huge Iran demand

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