Iran may ban Peugeot car over fire fears

AFP: Iran will ban new Peugeot 405 cars from hitting the streets if a fault which has caused many of the French vehicles to catch fire is not repaired, press reports said Wednesday. TEHRAN, Dec 27, 2006 (AFP) – Iran will ban new Peugeot 405 cars from hitting the streets if a fault which has caused many of the French vehicles to catch fire is not repaired, press reports said Wednesday.

“If this car’s problems are not sorted out, they will not be registered from next month,” traffic police chief Mohammad Rooyanian was quoted as saying by Kargozaran newspaper.

Media reports have said around 100 Peugeot 405 sedans caught fire in the past months due to defective fuel systems in the vehicle, manufactured under licence since 1990 by the Islamic republic’s biggest carmaker, Iran Khodro.

The company’s managing director, Manouchehr Manteqi, said 100,000 of the cars had been recalled for repair but press reports have said that about 25,000 of the Peugeots had still not undergone safety checks.

Rooyanian said the police also had “evidence that a car was repaired but caught fire again.”

The state-owned Iran Khodro company has an annual production of about 550,000 cars including Iran’s flagship Samand, Peugeot 206 and Peugeot Pars, which is a face-lifted 405.