The national police chief Hussein Ashtari says the Kia Cerato has been selected for use as the new police car in Iran.
Iran's police fleet has recently been using locally made Iran Khodro Samands as the vehicle of choice. In the distant past the fleet included locally-assembled Mercedes-Benz.
"The police fleet needed overhaul and the Kia Cerato was an ideal option as it is manufactured in Iran," the senior police officer said last week.
Nearly 200 units of the Cerato are ready for use by the Law Enforcement Forces and the traffic police. They will first be used in Tehran, Khabar Online quoted him as saying.
If the car passes the required tests it will be used nationwide.
The Kia Cerato is manufactured in Iran by SAIPA, the second largest domestic carmaker. With a maximum speed limit of 190 kilometers per hour, it has four cylinders and punches in 126 horsepower.
The second generation Kia Cerato was launched in South Korea in late 2008 under the Kia Forte name—a name that was used in most international markets. The "Cerato" name has been retained in some markets, such as Australia, Iran, South Africa and Brazil.
Ashtari added that the Mercedes Benz C200 Kompressors the police still ride will continue to be used until the permits expire and will be phased out gradually.
The Mercedes-Benz has been in service for well over a decade and were highly preferred because of quality and reliability.
Police forces have a range of models in their fleet including Peugeot's 206, Nissan Maxima, Citroen's Xantia, Mazda 3 and Renault's Megane. Some of the vehicles are said to be better suited for police activities than others.
The Cerato according to the Quality Inspection Company of Iran (ISQI) receives an average score of 3 stars putting it towards the top of the quality index. However in September vehicle inspectors pulled down the ranking to two stars due to a slip in build quality.
SAIPA produced more than 19,937 Ceratos in the first ten months of the outgoing fiscal year (March 21, 2016 to the January 19).
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints