The Iran Standards and Quality Inspection Company’s latest report shows a light improvement in the quality of domestically-manufactured and assembled automobiles during the Iranian month ending Oct. 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.
The report compares the vehicles' performance with their defined quality standards and approval limits.
According to the report, the evaluation classifies the vehicles into five price groups, with the least expensive costing 1 billion rials ($3,530) and the most expensive worth 10 billion rials ($35,300).
ISQI takes into account the vehicle's factory price, although the automobiles are sold at a much higher rate in the open market. The cars are then rated from one to five stars, with one showing the lowest quality.
The automatic Dena Plus Turbo of Iranian automaker Iran Khodro (IKCO) has retained the five-star ranking awarded for the first time in January 2021 in the October assessment.
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 ($13,700) and is classed in the third price group.
Bahman Motor’s assembled model Dignity has also joined the five-star group in the newest quality checks.
Originally known as Fengguang iX5, Dignity is a midsize crossover produced by the Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor since 2018. The iX5 includes a 1.5-liter turbo producing 150 hp and 220 Nm of torque and a 1.8-liter turbo producing 139 hp and 187 Nm of torque. Transmission options include a five-speed manual gearbox or CVT.
Four-Star Winners
According to the new report, three IKCO automobiles, including the brand-new model Tara, manual Dena Plus, automatic and manual Peugeot 207 and Haima S7, which belong to the third price range, received four stars.
Also known as K132, Tara is a modified version of Peugeot 301, unveiled in February 2020 and pre-sold for the first time in July 2020.
The car is produced with two gearbox options (manual and automatic) and a TU5P engine, with a 1600cc, four-cylinder, 16-valve indirect injection that produces 110 horsepower and 144 Nm.
The sedan is priced at 2.9 billion rials ($10,240) by the company.
Dena's launch was announced in April 2011. However, due to sanctions imposed 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 car first appeared on Iranian streets in the low thousands in autumn 2014. Dena is priced at 1.72 billion rials ($6,070).
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 ($6,180 and $7,000) 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.
Quick, a small city car made by SAIPA, also gained four out of five stars in the ranking for the first time in February 2021 and has maintained its quality in the recent evaluation.
Introduced in 2016, the sedan is equipped with a 1.5-liter, 87-hp engine and a five-speed continuously variable transmission. The model costing 1.7 billion rials ($6,000) is classed in the fourth price group.
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 ($34,900) 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.
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.
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.
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 all versions of Pride, except for the SAIPA 151 pickup, was ceased in June 2020 because of its serious safety failures and quality issues. Soon, it was excluded from the quality ranking list.
Pride was originally developed for Japanese and South Korean markets in the late 1980s. 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 automakers a two-year ultimatum to comply.
The production of vehicles that cannot meet 83 automotive standards was expected to be halted by the end of 2018.
SAIPA’s Pride, which had nothing to be proud of, topped the elimination list, but the deadline was extended for a variety of reasons, including people’s low purchasing power and the lack of a high-quality alternative.
