With more than four months having passed from the Iranian New Year (March 20), SAIPA has yet not delivered the cars it was obliged to hand over in February.
According to local news website Alef, the bulk of the undelivered cars include two models, the long-produced Pride and the Tiba.
The report did not say why the second largest carmaker was fulfilling its obligations to customers. Neither was it clear what measures, if any, will be taken against SAIPA for non-compliance. It is understood that most of the cars were pre-sold.
The two models are the cheapest cars in the local market. SAIPA sells the low quality Pride for around 220 million rials ($5,900) and Tiba for 270 million rials ($7,200).
Pride has been produced since 1993 and is based on a Kia Motor’s hatchback from the 1980s. While the South Korean firm put an end to the sales of the model in 2000, SAIPA officials have rejected repeated calls by the national standards organization, economic experts and respected environmentalists to do the same.
Unveiled in 2008, Tiba was designed in conjunction with Italian auto firms and is seen as a cheaper alternative to IKCO’s Peugeot 206.
According to data released by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade during the first four months of the current fiscal (started in March) the company produced 56,904 units of Pride and 41,717 Tibas.
Both models suffer from low quality according to Iran Standards and Quality Inspection Co., a private firm which tests locally produced cars on a monthly basis.
According to ISQI’s June-July report released in English on August 8, the Tiba produced in Kashan scored two stars, while the Pride got one star.
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