Page 59 - IRANRptMar21

Iranian automaker Saipa puts Aria crossover in production
vehicle stock of the country with its assembly of Peugeot and Dacia vehicles, as well as own-branded IKCO models.
Vice-president for research and development Mohammad Reza Yousefi said that 70% of the new gearbox has been designed by “elite and young Iranians”, with further localisation expected to reach 90% by 2022.
The company representative said the project had taken eight months, unlike the usual 18 months, to complete and had been done entirely within the confines of the company, as foreign assistance has been absent due to sanctions.
Yousefi said that on the back of the development the company would further invest in a new centre of excellence for gearboxes on the outskirts of Tehran in the coming year (after March 21).
Iranian automaker SAIPA (Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën) has put a C-segment crossover, the Aria, into production, ​AsrIran​ daily has reported the company as saying.
The crossover stems from a new national mega-platform for C-segment (the third smallest, or “medium”, European passenger car segment) cars known as the SP100 platform, co-developed with France-based PSA Group (now Stellantis following a merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, or FCA) prior to the US sanctions that were re-imposed on Tehran in 2018, forcing PSA to pull out of Iran.
Unveiled in the summer last year, the Aria then faced production launch delays caused by parts shortages stemming partially from the impact of US sanctions. However, with the commencement of production of the small family car, SAIPA has achieved the shortest ever gap for an Iranian automaker between a car unveiling and actual manufacturing, the company said. SAIPA said the gap is usually from eight months to two years.
The Aria features a panoramic sunroof, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) and a host of other modern features nowadays expected by many car buyers. The vehicle has not yet been tested by third-party companies for a crash safety certificate.
SAIPA, meanwhile, said it was working on meeting a sales launch target pencilled in for the end of March (subsequent to the start of the 2021/2022 Persian year) for the Shahin (“Falcon”), the production of which is conducted on the same SP100 platform.
9.2.3​ Aviation corporate news
Iran is offering major airlines overflight discounts to boost transit income
Iran is offering overflight fee discounts to major airlines amid efforts by the government to boost transit income by increasing the number of flights through the country's airspace, Transportation Minister Mohammad Eslami has been cited as saying by Press TV.
A plan by Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company (IAC) to cut its overflight fees was approved by ministers, Eslami was reported as saying.
Xinhua news agency at the same time released a report quoting Eslami as stating that the government has been working with the Iranian armed forces to set up direct flight corridors to further assure foreign airlines of the safety of flying through Iranian airspace. A Ukrainian airliner was shot down by the Iranian military just outside Tehran in January 2020 in an apparent accident, with the loss of all on board.
Iranian Air Navigation Company chief Siavash Amirmokri lately said that the number of transit flights through Iran declined by nearly one half to 400-450 per day in 2020 compared with the number in 2019. The coronavirus crisis that
59​ IRAN Country Report March 2021 www.intellinews.com