A Russian carmaker has asked Iran to supply it with key components it cannot access due to Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, Tehran’s state media reported.
Hossein Bahrainian, from the Iranian Auto Parts Makers Association, said a Russian automaker had enquired about purchasing parts, without specifying the company by name, the official IRNA news agency said.
The components in demand included brake systems, seat belts, airbags, alternators, air conditioners, thermostats and power window systems, Bahrainian said according to the report late Monday.
“Given the Russian automaker’s demand for cooperation with Iranian equipment manufacturers, companies that have the capacity to supply Russia… in terms of quality and quantity of production, can try their luck for a presence in the market of this northern neighbor,” he said.
Some Iranian car components, including engine cooling and suspension systems, have already been exported to Russia in recent years.
The two countries share a maritime border across the Caspian Sea.
Iran has also suffered under stringent economic sanctions, reimposed by the United States in 2018 after Washington unilaterally pulled out of a deal with world powers on Iran’s nuclear program.
Western carmakers have ventured into Russia to assemble cars over the past two decades as the country’s economy expanded.
But since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February, numerous car makers have stopped sales of their cars or parts to Russia — including Audi, Honda, Jaguar and Porsche.
Makes that have halted Russian production include BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Production by automaker AvtoVAZ — the largest carmaker in Russia with the country’s top brand Lada, a company majority-owned by France’s Nissan-Renault group — is almost at a standstill due to a shortage of imported components.
The Renault Group is under intense pressure to boycott Russia over Ukraine and considering whether to withdraw from AvtoVAZ.
It owns AvtoVAZ in partnership with Rostec, a state-owned defense conglomerate run by Sergei Chemezov, a sanctioned close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.