Morattab
Encyclopedia
Morattab is an SUV manufacturer based in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...

, Iran. Since 1962, the company has produced clone versions of the Series
Land Rover Series
The Land Rover Series I, II, and III are off-road vehicles produced by the British manufacturer Land Rover that were inspired by the US-built Willys Jeep...

 Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...

. The currently produced models are versions of the "Series IV" made by Santana Motor of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 until the early 1990s, when the production tooling and design were sold to Morattab and shipped to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

.

As such unlicensed Morattab clones differ significantly from the final Series III built by Land Rover in the United Kingdom. For example, Series IV models have parabolic leaf spring
Leaf spring
Originally called laminated or carriage spring, a leaf spring is a simple form of spring, commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles...

s, one-piece windscreens and fully fitted interiors. Morattab also fits locally built 1.8-litre 4-cylinder petrol engines derived from Nissan instead of the 2.25-litre 4-cylinder or 3.3-litre 6-cylinder engines fitted to the Santana Series IV.

In 2003, they launched production of the Ssangyong Musso
SsangYong Musso
The SsangYong Musso is a SUV manufactured by the South Korean automobile manufacturer SsangYong Motor Company, from 1993 to 2005. "Musso" means Rhinoceros in Korean....

.

Morattab Industrial Manufacturing Company was founded in 1957, initially as an agent and distributor of commercial vehicles and trucks, before branching into the manufacture of four wheels drive vehicles under licence from Rover of England in 1962.

The Company’s activities continued uninterrupted through the 1970’s eventually evolving as one of the largest producers of four wheel drive vehicles in Iran. Following the 1979 ( Islamic Revolution ), the Company ownership was transferred to the State, and IDRO (Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran) took control of the Company as the Government industrial arm, and as such, the Company underwent a change in the management. Despite this transition, production continued unabated and by 1983 the Company achieved record production levels.

In 1996, in conjunction with the industrial privatization and economic liberalization policies initiated by the Iranian Government, the Company was prepared for privatization.

‏The Government, through Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO), was retaining a 33 percent share of the Company up to the March 2000.

After privatization, a comprehensive survey was made to maximize the potential of the Company. It was within this context that the management of the company decided to expand the production into the manufacture of a modern four wheels vehicle and finally an agreement was signed with SsangYong Motor Company from Korea in 2002, and Musso vehicles were launched into the market accordingly.

External links

  • http://www.morattab.ir/
  • http://www.morattabkhodro.com/
  • http://www.PersiaCars.com Cars of IRAN
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