Iran Carmaker Getting Ready for New Model

New details have been released about SAIPA's upcoming sedan model SP100.

The future car is being designed on SAIPA's SP1 platform and will come with an automatic gear box, electronic power steering, side air bags and electronic stability control system. 

It also will supposedly offer a Global Positioning System (GPS) and daytime running lamps, local automotive website Khodro Nevis reported Monday. 

The car has the overtones of European and American designs, however, the maquettes of the vehicle bear close resemblance to the Citroen C4L sedan.

The C4L was originally released in the Chinese market in 2012 and has gone on to enter other emerging markets including Russia and South America.   

For the development of the vehicle, SAIPA is working with Mega Motors (a SAIPA subsidiary) and China's Brilliance to design new engines, according the auto website.

Engines will come in three different sizes: 1.3, 1.5, and 1.6 liters. The company is rumored to be developing a 1.6 liter turbo-charged engine.  

>Project Delays

The release of the new car, however, seems to have been delayed.

Officials at the company had said in 2015 that two mega platforms were being designed. The first product to be made on the platform—the SP100—was to be released by March 2017. 

Yet it seems that while deadline is closing there is still no news on when this model will be available.

With the manufacturing of this car, SAIPA aims to enter the Euro-NCAP crash tests. 

It would be the first time an Iranian car company has made such a move. It will also be likely used as marketing strategy by the company against it main rival Iran Khodro, which has not yet sent its cars for crash testing.     

The European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) is a European car safety performance assessment program based in Brussels. 

It is a voluntary vehicle safety rating system which originated in the UK but is now backed by the European Commission, seven European governments, as well as motoring and consumer organizations in every EU-member nation. 

>Small Eco-Friendly Vehicle

Research and designing of electric cars is continuing at full pace at the research and innovation center of SAIPA. 

"SAIPA has a vision towards the future that includes developing new environmentally-friendly vehicles," says the center's chief Alireza Mosadeghi said.

According to local automotive website Donyaye Khodro, the official added that design specifications of a new eco-friendly product have been defined and a model will be built on SAIPA's X200 platform.  

The vehicle will be produced in cooperation with a European carmaker and an Iranian university, he said without elaboration. 

Production of electric vehicles will help reduce air pollution in major cities he said. "SAIPA has a roadmap for developing electric car technologies."  

SAIPA's CEO, Mehdi Jamali, had first hinted about the eco-friendly car on National Clean Air Day on  January 18.