Iranian SAIPA plans to enter the Russian market

Iranian automaker SAIPA, following Iran Khodro, announced plans to enter the Russian market. The debut model is the Shahin sedan, which, like the IKCO Tara, belongs to the C-class, but uses the old Toyota B platform, the predecessor of the TNGA-B from the current Yaris. Under the bonnet of the SAIPA Shahin, a 1.5 turbo four with a capacity of 112 hp is installed and 178 Nm of torque, which works in conjunction with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The car is equipped with climate control, keyless entry with an engine start button, a 7-inch central display, a tire pressure monitoring system, a rear-view camera, parking sensors and heated mirrors.

Also there are offered two airbags, anti-lock brakes and a brake force distribution system. In Iran, the SAIPA Shahin sedan costs about 12 thousand dollars (720 thousand rubles at the current exchange rate), but in Russia the price will be about 20 thousand dollars (1.2 million rubles). "Given that not the most modern cars are produced in Iran, they have little chance of occupying a large market share in our country. After all, the Russian consumer chooses, first of all, outwardly attractive cars and brand reputation. For Iranian cars, these parameters are far from the first place.

In terms of positioning, they can be traded in the niche of cheap sedans, which are actively buying corporate fleets and which are now sorely lacking," says Alexei Makarov, Director for Development and Corporate Governance at Nizhegorodets.