Paris Hosts the Most Noteworthy Auto Show for Iran

The Paris Auto Show, along with the Frankfurt and Detroit auto shows, is among the largest auto exhibitions in the world. Typically, there is little to no news from the Iranian auto industry at these shows, with only two previous instances of Iranian representation: the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2007, where the Peugeot 206 sedan, then named Aryan, was unveiled. Now, following the lifting of sanctions, the Iranian Minister of Industries is the main guest at the exhibition, first visiting the Peugeot and Citroën booth where all Peugeot executives greet him, and then proceeding to sign the largest industrial contract for Iran since the sanctions with Renault France. This is the only exhibition where the CEO of an Iranian company (Iran Khodro) unveiled a vehicle alongside the CEO of a major company (Peugeot). The other exhibition that featured Iran was the Detroit Auto Show, right after the sanctions were imposed, where most major automakers, except Renault, announced their exit from Iran in line with the sanctions. On the second day of the Paris Auto Show, the largest industrial contract for Iran after the nuclear agreement was signed between Renault and the Organization for the Development and Renovation of Iranian Industries. With this new contract, Renault will directly produce and supply its products in Iran without needing to collaborate with Iran Khodro and Saipa, which could spark intense competition for the first time between a joint Iranian-French company and two state-owned Iranian automakers. Beyond Iran and the news of new contracts, the most significant news from the exhibition relates to the smartening of vehicles and automakers' efforts to expand electric vehicles. The shadow of the Volkswagen Group's scandal is evident, as their booth is not as lively as before, and two of their subsidiaries, Lamborghini and Bentley, did not participate in this exhibition. Nevertheless, the exhibition is still filled with excitement from automakers unveiling their new products. The first two days of the Paris Auto Show, held every two years, are reserved for journalists, with over 10,000 reporters visiting the exhibition during this time. This exhibition can be seen more as a showcase for European products, particularly Italian and French ones. One of the first products introduced at the Paris Auto Show was the smallest new vehicle from Suzuki, named Ignis. This company is in negotiations with Iran Khodro to produce an affordable product. Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of the Renault-Nissan Group, also introduced the concept supercar Trezor at the auto show, which reflects Renault's future strategy for reviving the Alpine brand. This electric car can produce 350 horsepower with its electric motors and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4 seconds. Peugeot, Renault's fierce competitor, introduced the 5008 SUV, developed on the Peugeot 508 platform, with plans to re-enter the American market. No company spoke as much about the future creativity of its products as Mercedes-Benz did at the Paris Auto Show, discussing everything from sharing Mercedes-Benz drivers' experiences on social media to electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, and increasing the battery capacity of its cars. Mercedes-Benz introduced a new concept car named Mercedes-Maybach 6, representing future ultra-luxury vehicles that will no longer use gasoline engines. This car produces 740 horsepower with four electric motors and can travel up to 320 kilometers on a single battery charge. Currently, the main criticism of luxury cars is their use of large, fuel-consuming gasoline engines. The head of BMW's motorcycle division also introduced the company's new electric engine, stating that the main market for this engine is Europe and China. As time goes on, information technology companies are increasingly partnering with the automotive industry, one of which is Microsoft. At the Paris Auto Show, the CEO of Toyota announced a new collaboration with Microsoft to design smart vehicles. During Toyota's press conference, the CEO of Microsoft announced via a recorded video the new partnership with the Toyota Group. The two companies are working together to smarten Toyota's vehicles. Mitsubishi was another Japanese company that attempted to showcase its technical capabilities. The CEO of Mitsubishi stated at the company's press conference at the Paris Auto Show that their hybrid vehicles will soon be able to travel up to 120 kilometers on a single battery charge. Although this exhibition is supposed to be a platform for European companies to showcase their strengths, many innovations came from Japanese companies. At this exhibition, Nissan introduced the capabilities of vehicles known as 'vehicle-to-grid', which is a major topic of research projects worldwide today. These electric vehicles transfer their energy to the urban power grid while parked. Many fuel cell or solar vehicles can become small local power producers while parked. Various companies at the exhibition attempted to attract audiences through different methods, including the use of interactive media. At Volkswagen's booth, alongside using 3D glasses for a better understanding of new products, individuals could sit in a globe-shaped chair and watch various films introducing new products on a very long display with a powerful sound system. The presence of some internet companies was also widespread at the exhibition. With the expansion of the internet and smartphones and the increase in new software, new companies have entered the automotive business space, from car-sharing service providers to mapping system providers. Another trend observed at the Paris Auto Show was the use of small engines. In recent years, to reduce fuel consumption and air pollution, automakers have turned to downsizing engines while increasing power. The power produced by new 1500 cc engines is equivalent to that of 2500 cc engines from ten years ago.