Iran's Standards and Quality Inspection Company has released its latest report on vehicle production and quality for the month ending August 22.
Similar to the last report released in June on the quality of automobiles produced in a 30-day period ending May 21, 99% of the automobiles manufactured locally were lightweight vehicles and the rest comprised heavy vehicles, YJC reported.
The number of lightweight vehicles produced during the period ending August 22 mentions a 2% growth compared to the same period of the previous month. The growth is mainly due to the rise in production of Chery MVM110 by Maadiran Khodro and Saipa's popular hatchback Tiba 2.
During the period, 31 models were assessed, 27 ranked "very good" and the rest received a "good" ranking, which is difficult to comprehend when the facts are broken down.
Vehicles were evaluated based on different criteria, including technicalities and performance, engine malfunction, brakes and electronics. Problems concerning design and assembly were also taken into account as were unusual sound, water resistance, body work and paint.
The overall rankings placed the New Mazda 3 produced by Bahman group on top of the chart while MVM110 dropped to last place. The New Mazda 3 has improved the most while the quality of Lifan's X60 has declined more than any other car.
No surprises in the performance category since May, as Saipa's range of Prides (X132 and X131) once again collected the most negative points for poor performance and technical problems.
A comparison of the latest figures with those of the previous month shows that the overall performance and technical problems of cars deteriorated by 17.2%. The number of minus points given to Iran Khodro's Peugeot 405 and Peugeot 206 mainly account for the degradation.
In the design and assembly category, MVM110 and Saipa Pride 131 garnered the most negative points. This category had also declined by 4.2% compared to the previous month.
Oddly, Suzuki's Grand Vitara produced by IKCO—the best locally manufactured car in May—was one of the two vehicles that contributed most to the degrading. The other is Dacia Logan produced by Pars Khodro, which is locally referred to as Pars Tondar.
Saipa's Pride 131 and 132 models, which surprisingly were not the worst vehicles produced in the 30-day period, also topped the body category with the most negative points. The standard quality of Kia Cerato and Grand Vitara in this category contributed to a seldom-seen improvement of the overall body works of locally produced cars, increasing by 9.9% compared to the previous month.
IKCO's Peugeot 405 and Runna's acceptable ranks in the paint category account for an overall 10% increase in this area. In the same group, Lifan 620 and X60 obtained the most negative points.
Also evaluated were 10 pickup trucks, two models of which were granted a "very good" rank while the remaining eight ranked "good". All in all, the quality of pickup trucks produced in this period had declined by 12.7% compared to the same period of the previous month.
The number of commercial vehicles produced in the period was up by 18.4%. However, none of these vehicles was inspected for quality assessment at the time.
