TEHRAN – U.S. carmakers have just started marketing to enter Iran, said Mohammad Reza Najafimanesh, the spokesman for the Iranian car industry’s policymaking council stated.

“Some U.S. carmakers have sent messages to Iranian carmakers and have hired intermediate persons to negotiate with Iranian carmakers,” the Mehr news agency quoted Najafimanesh as saying on Tuesday.

Iran welcomes any contract which is culminated in joint venture and export, he added.

U.S. companies have voiced readiness to invest in Iran once sanctions on the country are lifted, he noted.

He described Iran’s car market “very attractive” for foreign automakers and said U.S. companies have already started market research for entering Iran’s market once the anti-Iran sanctions are removed in the wake of a final nuclear deal between Iran and P 5+1 group of countries.

The automobile industry is seen as Iran’s biggest non-oil sector. It accounts for nearly 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Latest data shows that Iran ranks 18th on the list of the world’s top auto manufacturers.

The 2014 Production Statistics by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) indicate Iran’s auto production increased by 46.7 percent in the 12-month period.