February 26, 2021
For the first time ever, the highest quality rating of five stars has been awarded to an Iranian-built car, Iran Khodro’s Dena Plus Turbo, which is an upgraded version of the Dena Plus first marketed in 2014
The website of the Iran Standards and Quality Inspection Company (ISQI) has released its latest report on the quality of domestically-produced cars. The vehicles were surveyed during the Iranian month ending January 19.
ISQI is a private firm working on contract for the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade.
The report classifies cars into five price ranges, from the cheapest costing 870 million rials ($3,400) to the most expensive costing around 10 billion rials ($39,000). The company quotes the vehicles’ factory price, while they are generally sold in the open market at much higher prices.
The vehicles are then ranked from one star, representing the lowest quality, to a maximum of five stars.
According to ISQI’s data, for the first time, Iran Khodro’s automatic Dena Plus Turbo received five stars. The sedan is an upgraded version of the Dena Plus, introduced by the company in 2014, and based on a Peugeot 405 platform. It has a 1,645cc turbocharged, four-cylinder gasoline engine. The model costs 3.7 billion rials ($14,400) and is classed in the middle price group.
Three cars, including the manual Dena Plus Turbo, Dena Plus and Peugeot 207, were the only models to win four stars. All three models are in the third price group and are also made by Iran Khodro, the country’s largest automaker.
Most other car models won three stars, including the very pricey Cherry Tiggo 7, a Chinese SUV assembled by Modiran Khodro. The model is sold at 9.9 billion rials ($38,500) by the company.
No model produced by Iran Khodro’s main rival, SAIPA, earned more than three stars in the quality assessment.
SAIPA’s small Pride, which has been produced in Iran for decades, never rated better than one star.
The production of some versions of the Pride was ceased last June because of its serious safety failures and quality issues. It was then dropped from the quality ranking list. But the production of other versions is continuing, despite the firm’s many promises to halt production.
The Pride was originally developed for Japanese and South Korean markets in the late 1980s. The car was widely sold in the United States as the Ford Festiva in the early 1990s. 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 two years 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 topped the elimination list.