Iran Khodro

Stock performance

History

Iran Khodro was founded in 1962 by the Khayami brothers as Iran National, and from 1967 it built the Paykan, a licensed version of Britain's Hillman Hunter that stayed in production until 2005 and became an icon of Iranian roads. The company was nationalized after the 1979 revolution and later assembled Peugeot models under license, until US sanctions prompted Peugeot's withdrawal in 2018.

Business model

Iran Khodro builds passenger cars and commercial vehicles for the domestic market, combining its own designs such as the Samand and Dena with models developed with Chinese and other partners. High import tariffs and sanctions shield it from foreign competition, while government price controls on cars and shortages of imported parts have produced recurring losses and long customer waiting lists.

Market position

Iran Khodro is the country's largest carmaker and, together with its rival SAIPA, dominates Iranian vehicle production. Its exports are modest and largely limited to nearby markets.

Country impact

The company is one of Iran's largest industrial employers, with a wide network of domestic parts suppliers, and car prices, quality, and the lottery-style allocation of new cars are a recurring political issue. Its fortunes track the broader Iranian economy's exposure to sanctions and currency depreciation.