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How automakers stand to benefit from Iran

The big global news of late is a deal that sees a number of major powers easing some sanctions on Iran in return for the Middle Eastern nation scaling back its nuclear program. This thawing of relations between Iran and the West could have far-reaching impacts in both the near and long term, particularly on the auto industry.
As Bloomberg points out, foreign manufacturers, especially Kia and Peugeot, stand to win big by this short-term easing of sanctions. But the impact of opening up the Iranian market to larger-scale sales cannot be underestimated - Peugeot, for example, sold 457,900 units to Iran in 2011 as spare parts kits alone. Opening the Iranian market could also have a huge impact on the cost of oil, as the country was one of the largest producers in the OPEC consortium before firmer sanctions took effect in 2012. Still, as David Cohen, US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence said, it's "not open season now for business in Iran."
Bloomberg has an excellent report of all the near-term effects an easing of sanctions has across a number of industries. Hop over and give it a look.

Kia confirms $1B factory in Mexico to be completed in 2016

Kia is the latest in a string of automakers to announce plans to build new or expanded factories in Mexico. The Korean company has signed a $1 billion deal to establish a plant in Monterrey in the state of Nuevo León, with construction starting in late September. If everything proceeds on schedule, the facility should be complete in the first half of 2016 and be able to produce 300,000 vehicles a year.
The $1-billion investment will create a "new, highly automated manufacturing plant," according to Kia's announcement, a facility covering 1,235 acres of land. Confirming earlier rumors, Kia will produce compact models there, but the company won't reveal specific model names, just yet. When complete, the factory in Mexico will boost the automaker's annual capacity to 3.37 million vehicles a year with 1.69 million of those in Korea and 1.68 million abroad. It will also join Kia's plant in Georgia (where the Optima and Sorento are made) as the business' other North American location.
Kia hasn't kept plans for the Mexican factory a very close secret and openly admitted it was "being considered as a possible location" to Autoblog. The country was chosen partially because of its free-trade agreements (read: NAFTA), that make it less costly to move models elsewhere, not to mention its easy access to the North, Central and South American markets. The new plant should also alleviate some of the tight supply issues Kia has had in the US.

Autoblog Podcast #344

Doug DeMuro from Plays With Cars, Infiniti Q50, Subaru BRZ STI, Porsche Macan
Episode #344 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Executive Editor Chris Paukert are joined by Doug DeMuro, author of Plays With Cars and prolific internet autowriting presence. Topics include the latest spy shots of the Porsche Macan, the 2014 Infiniti Q50, and the teaser images we've recently seen of a Subaru BRZ wearing STI badges. As always, we start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. You can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #344: