Britain’s MG Rover will soon sign a deal to supply thousands of vehicles
to Iran, the Evening Standard reported.
That would mark a further stage in the car maker’s remarkable revival, the
newspaper said.
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It would also, in a way, be history repeating itself.
Back in the days of the Shah, Britain’s Rootes Group, subsequently bought
by Chrysler and then Peugeot, supplied its then-current Hillman Hunter in kit
form for local assembly as the Paykan.
Over three decades later, an updated version of that car is still made alongside
newer but still obsolete Peugeot 405s.
The Evening Standard said that the MG Rover Iran deal was brokered by the Department
of Trade and Industry, where former Secretary of State Stephen Byers made it
something of a personal mission to help the company.
It was unclear, the paper added, whether Rover would ship the cars as kits
for assembly in Iran or if they would be exported fully-built.
Rover PR chief Gordon Poynter would not discuss the Iran contract with the
London evening newspaper saying only: "We are trying to open up new markets
all over the world."
The deal would involve the 75, 45 and 25 models, the Evening Standard said.
