The Iran Standards and Quality Inspection Company has issued a report on the quality of domestically manufactured automobiles assessed during the Iranian month ending July 22.
The quality watchdog is a private entity that works under contract with the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, and publishes the rankings on its website, Isqi.co.ir.
According to the report, the evaluation classifies the vehicles into five pricing groups, with the least expensive costing 1 billion rials ($3,770) and the most expensive worth 10 billion rials ($37,730).
ISQI takes into account the vehicle's manufacturing cost, although the automobiles are sold at a much higher price in the open market. The cars are then rated from one to five stars, with one showing the lowest quality.
According to the ISQI rating, domestically produced automobiles have improved slightly in recent rounds.
Following quality checks in the month ending Jan. 20, the automatic Dena Plus Turbo made by the Iranian automaker Iran Khodro (IKCO) retained the five-star ranking on the list.
The sedan is an upgraded version of Dena Plus, introduced by the company in 2014. It has a 1,645cc turbocharged, four-cylinder gasoline engine and Tronic gearbox. The model costs 3.9 billion rials ($14,338) and is classed in the third price group.
Quick, a small city car made by SAIPA, also kept its four out of five stars in the ranking. Introduced in 2016, the sedan is equipped with a 1.5-liter, 87-hp engine and a five-speed continuously variable transmission (CVT). The model costing 1.5 billion rials ($5,510) is classed in the fourth price group.
Four-Star Frontrunners
According to the new study, three IKCO automobiles, including the manual Dena Plus, automatic and manual Peugeot 207, and Haima S7, which belong to the third price range, received four stars, apart from SAIPA's Quick.
Dena's launch was announced in April 2011. However, due to sanctions placed on Iran Khodro, as well as the withdrawal of its partner PSA Peugeot-Citroen in 2012, the project was put on hold due to a lack of parts and financing.
The sedan's mass production did not begin until 2013, when IKCO faced mounting criticism for delivery delays. The car first appeared on Iranian streets in the low thousands in autumn 2014. Dena is priced at 1.72 billion rials ($6,320) by the corporation.
The Peugeot 207 model features a similar exterior style to the popular Peugeot 206, with minor differences. It is available with automatic and manual transmissions that cost 1.75 and 2 billion rials ($6,600 and $7,350) respectively.
The production of Haima S7 began in 2015 with 40% of the Chinese SUV’s parts manufactured locally.
S7 is available with both manual and automatic transmission options and has a 2-liter engine.
Three-Star Champs
As per the charts, a majority of the car models garnered three stars. In the top price range (the most expensive), Cherry’s Tiggo 7, a Chinese SUV assembled by Modiran Khodro, tops the list. The model is sold at 9.9 billion rials ($36,390) by the company.
Kerman Motor’s assembled JAC S5 — a Chinese crossover — and its “little brother” JAC S3, along with Safe Khodro’s SWM G01 earned three stars in the second price range.
Iran Khodro’s Peugeot 206, Rana and Peugeot Pars — a facelifted version of Peugeot 405 with automatic gearbox — and Samand also hold three stars in the third price group.
All models produced by IKCO’s rival company, SAIPA, earned three stars in the quality assessment. The models include Tiba, Tiba 2 and Saina, all of which are placed in the fourth price group.
Two-Star Winners
Based on the ISQI data, Modiran Khodro’s MVM X33s earned a two-star ranking.
Unveiled in 2016 in Iran, MVM X33s is a local variant of China’s Chery Tiggo 3 that belong to the second price class.
The model is equipped with Chamonix seven-speed CVT auto transmission.
Iran Khodro’s Peugeot 405, which is being phased out of the production line, was recently omitted from the ranking. It suffered from several safety failures and never earned more than two stars in the ISQI ranking.
The model is a large family car produced by the French automaker Peugeot in July 1987, which continues to be manufactured under license outside France, as its production was discontinued in Europe in 1997.
Iran Khodro started car production in the mid-1990s. The company also produced several models derived from the 405. Peugeot Pars, also known as Peugeot Persia, is a facelifted 405 version with a redesigned front-end, including clear lamp lenses and a revamped rear.
Samand, which was designed to be “the national car” of Iran, is also based on the 405 platform.
Arisun is another IKCO model heavily based on the 405 model. It is a coupe utility car under production since 2015.
One-Star Laggards
SAIPA’s small city car, Pride, which has been produced in Iran for decades, never earned more than one star in ISQI’s rankings.
The production of some versions of Pride was ceased in June 2020 because of its serious safety failures and quality issues. Soon, it was excluded from the quality ranking list.
The production of other versions is continuing, but the car remains distinguished by its ultra-low quality.
Pride was originally developed for Japanese and South Korean markets in the late 1980s. The car was widely sold in the United States as a Ford Festiva in the early 1990s. It entered the Iranian market in 1993 under license from Kia and has continued to be a cash cow for SAIPA.
Three years ago, the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran and Iran’s Automotive Policymaking Council set new automotive standards and gave a two-year ultimatum to automakers to comply.
The production of vehicles that cannot meet 83 automotive standards was expected to be halted by the end of 2018, which was pushed back for a variety of reasons, including people’s low purchasing power.
SAIPA’s Pride, which had nothing to be proud of, topped the elimination list.
A recent study conducted on Iranian road accidents recorded over the past decade showed that the road killer was involved in one-third of the fatalities.
National Traffic Police Chief General Kamal Hadianfar earlier said adherence to traffic regulations is of the highest importance in terms of driving safety, but a vehicle’s quality also matters.
“Pride lacks the required standards of a regular passenger car and an average of 3.8 deaths have been reported in each crash involving that car,” he said.
Road crashes claimed 206,049 lives in the 11 years ending March 2019, data from Iranian Legal Medicine Organization show.
Up to 34% of the figure, constituting 70,056 victims, died in the disastrous car.
