Experts: obsolete Saipa cars are not worth their money

Iranian brand Saipa is entering the Russian market, which will start the sales of Quik compact hatchback and Saina sedan, as well as the flagship Shahin sedan from June. The cost of these models will be from 1 million to 1.7 million rubles, which will make them the most affordable foreign cars in our country. According to Vladimir Zhelobov, director of sales of used cars of Avtodom Group of Companies and AvtoSpetsCentre Group of Companies, only two factors can ensure popularity among Russians for Saipa cars: technical equipment of a higher level than AvtoVAZ models have, as well as a lower cost in compare with representatives of the domestic auto industry. In terms of the first parameter, Saipa brand still wins - even the basic equipment of cars has airbags, rear parking sensors and ABS. However, a steering wheel without buttons, a switch dashboard, a non-touch radio and manual air conditioning settings are not the kind of equipment for which you want to pay from 1 million to 1.7 million rubles.

In turn, the editor-in-chief of Radio Avtodor, Igor Morzharetto, believes that Saipa cars can have serious prospects in the Russian market only in one case - if they can be assembled in Russia with the involvement of local component suppliers. Thus, it is possible to reduce slightly the cost of cars for consumers, making them more attractive due to this. In this case, buyers, apparently, will be ready to put up with the shortcomings of these cars with incomprehensible maintenance costs and reliability. "Now interest in Iranian brands in Russia is close to zero. There was an example with Iran Khodro, but it was not successful. By themselves, Saipa cars can compete with both AVTOVAZ and Chinese brands in terms of price.

It is important to understand that our consumer is accustomed to new products, we are spoiled for new, modern models. Chinese manufacturers have caught on to this trend and are mainly bringing to Russia current models that are attractive in terms of design, technology, and available options. It makes no sense to bring outdated models to Russia," - summarizes Sergey Novoselsky, Marketing and IT Director of the Petrovsky Group of Companies.