Pars Khodro ( fa, Pārs Xodro) is an Iranian

automobile manufacturer The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % ...

. It was the first manufacturer of sport utility vehicles ( SUVs) in Iran.

History

Formerly, Pars Khodro built American Motors'

Rambler Rambler or Ramble may refer to: Places * Rambler, Wyoming * Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽), separates Tsing Yi Island and the mainland New Territories in Hong Kong * The Ramble and Lake, Central Park, an area within New York City's Centr ...

and

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

(GM) products under licence. Its first cars, the Aria and the Shahin, were based on AMC's compact 1966

Rambler American The Rambler American is a compact car that was manufactured by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) between 1958 and 1969. The American was the second incarnation of AMC forerunner Nash Motors' compact Rambler that was introduced in 1950 a ...

and were launched in 1967. Production ended in 1974. It also built

Jeep CJ The Jeep CJ models are a series and a range of small, open-bodied off-road vehicles and compact pickup trucks, built and sold by several successive incarnations of the Jeep automobile marque from 1945 to 1986. The 1945 Willys Jeep was the world ...

, Jeep Wagoneer and Jeep Gladiator models under licence. The company was called Sherkat-Sahami Jeep at that time. Sherkat-Sahami Shahbaz HT

In June 1972, Sherkat-Sahami signed a deal with GM and formed General Motors Iran Ltd. GM Iran produced the Opel Commodore under licence from 1974 until 1976, with "Chevrolet Royale" badging. These models featured 2.5- and 2.8-litre engines. After having developed a reputation for reliability problems, the Royale was replaced on the Iranian production lines by the

Buick Skylark The Buick Skylark is a passenger car formerly produced by Buick. The model was made in six production runs, during 46 years, over which the car's design varied dramatically due to changing technology, tastes, and new standards implemented over t ...

("Buick Iran"), Cadillac Seville ("Cadillac Iran") and Chevrolet Nova , along with a Chevrolet pick-up truck. The Jeep continued during this time. These were built until 1981, the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

forcing the cessation of their manufacture and links with GM. Afterward, Pars Khodro switched to the manufacture of the

Nissan Patrol The is a series of full-size SUVs manufactured by Nissan in Japan and sold throughout the world. The Patrol has been available as either a short-wheelbase (SWB) three-door or a long-wheelbase (LWB) five-door chassis since 1951. The LWB versio ...

and pickups under licence. The last Patrol was produced in 2002. In 1995, Pars Khodro acquired an additional

Renault 5 The Renault 5 is a four-passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault over two generations: 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also called S ...

assembly line from

SAIPA SAIPA ( fa, سایپا, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'') was established in 1965 as with 75% Iranian ownersh ...

. SAIPA is a fellow Iranian manufacturer who had been making the car since 1976 as a replacement for the Iranian-built

Citroën Dyane The Citroën Dyane is an economy family car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1967 to 1983. The Dyane's design remained almost completely based on the Citroën 2CV and its underpinnings, but at the same time received almost all ne ...

. The Sepand I and II were versions of the original Renault 5, succeeded by a widened version with

Kia Pride The Kia Pride is a subcompact car sold by the South Korean automobile manufacturer Kia Motors between March 1987 and January 2000, and again since September 2011. Between April 2005 and September 2011 the Kia New Pride had been sold. Original mode ...

underpinnings, called the Sepand PK. In 2000, 51 per cent of Pars Khodro's shares were purchased by

, which in turn is 48 per cent owned by the Iranian Government. Nissan Seranza

Today's range

During the past years, Pars Khodro has built

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

and

Nissan , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bra ...

models under licence. Nissan models include the Maxima, Roniz (Xterra), Teana,

Patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology From French ''patrouiller'', from Old Fren ...

, and

Safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an impor ...

. Pars Khodro's cars complement SAIPA's range of Kia and Renault licensed models. From 2006, Pars Khodro began to manufacture the

Dacia Logan The Dacia Logan is a family of automobiles produced and marketed jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since mid-2004, and was the successor to the Dacia 1310 and Dacia Solenza. It has been produced as a ...

, Dacia Sandero and

Renault Mégane The Renault Mégane () is a small family car produced by the French car manufacturer Renault for model year 1996, and was the successor to the Renault 19. The Mégane has been offered in three- and five-door hatchback, saloon, coupé, conver ...

under license, with the Logan being built in a

joint-venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with

until 2018 as the Renault Tondar 90. At the moment, only the SAIPA Renault Pars Tondar (an updated local version of the Tondar 90 ), Pars Khodro H220, Pars Khodro H230, Pars Khodro H320, Pars Khodro Haise and Pars Khodro H330 are being sold. (Production stopped due to US sanctions on Iran)

Products

* Pars Khodro H220 * Pars Khodro H230 * Pars Khodro H320 * Pars Khodro H330 * Pars Khodro Haise * SAIPA Renault Pars Tondar

References

{{TSE Companies of Iran Car manufacturers of Iran Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1967 1967 establishments in Iran Companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange Manufacturing companies based in Tehran

History

Today's range

Products

See also

References