Kia Motors sets sales target in Iran at 20,000 units this year: sources

SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker, has set its sales target in Iran at around 20,000 units for this year as it is seeking to fully resume exports after years of suspension due to U.N.-led international sanctions, industry sources said Friday.

Kia Motors' sales target in Iran was set "internally," the sources told the English division of Yonhap News Agency.

Company officials did not confirm the figure, nor did they elaborate on when the company will resume exports to Iran in full swing, except to say that it will decide on the matter by closely watching market situations.

Hyundai Motor Co., its sister company, declined to provide a sales target for the Middle East country.

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Saturday that Tehran has complied with the agreement made half a year ago with the United States and five other global powers on its nuclear program.

It has effectively terminated international sanctions under which automakers here, including Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, have refrained from selling cars to the country.

In 2011, just before the sanctions were imposed on Iran, Kia Motors sold 5,185 units there, while Hyundai Motor sold 6,726 units.

Following a three-year halt until 2014, the two carmakers resumed selling cars in Iran last year, albeit on a small scale, as outlooks for a breakthrough in long-deadlocked talks over Iran's nuclear program improved.

Industry data showed that 1.13 million cars were sold in Iran in 2014. Market watchers say that the market is improving, raising hopes that it could expand further from a years-long slump caused by the international economic sanctions.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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