TEHRAN- Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) and French multinational automobile manufacturer Renault signed a deal on making joint venture in Iran, IRNA reported on Friday.

The deal was on the establishment of an engineering and sales office in Iran to support Iranian auto part manufacturers and also setting up a manufacturing plant in the country with the initial capacity of 150,000 cars per annum. The plant is scheduled to start production in 2018.

The joint venture deal was signed by IDRO’s managing director, Mansour Mo’azzami, and Renault’s chief competitive officer, Thierry Bolloré, in the French capital city on Friday, the second day of Paris Motor Show 2016.

Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Mohammadreza Nematzadeh and Renault President Carlos Ghosn were also present in the signing ceremony.

It will expand presence of the French carmaker in Iran, which is currently active in the country through joint venture with Iranian automakers Saipa and Iran Khodro.

Renault sales to Iran tripled in the first eight months of 2016 compared to the same period last year. The French auto maker has announced that it has sold 54,548 passenger cars to Iran during the mentioned period which shows a 199 percent rise compared to 18,230 of the last year.

MA/MG