Iran: Hyundai Motor ends operations

 

sanctions

By RICK GLADSTONE
New York Times

The Hyundai Motor Company, the automaking subsidiary of Hyundai, the South Korean conglomerate, has quietly ended its business dealings with Iran, where it had extensive operations, including a joint venture to make cars.

 

United Against Nuclear Iran, an American group that has advocated economic sanctions to pressure Iran over its disputed nuclear program, has reclassified Hyundai Motor, putting it in the “withdrawn” category on a list the group has compiled of foreign businesses that deal with Iran. Hyundai Motor officials did not respond to requests for comment. A strict new American law is putting pressure on foreign companies to reduce or eliminate their operations in Iran or risk penalties in the United States market. Hyundai is the second big foreign automaker in a week to pull back from Iran. Last week, General Motors said its French partner, PSA Peugeot Citroën, had suspended shipments of components to the Iran Khodro Industrial Group, an Iranian vehicle maker, to comply with American restraints on Iran trade.