Results of Vehicle Dependability Study in Iran

EghtesadOnline: Iran Standard and Quality Inspection Co. has carried out a Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), which indicates that cars made/assembled locally show unacceptably high levels of wear and tear after less than a year on the road.

News ID: ۷۴۶۲۱۵

13 November 2018

The company talked with 14,263 people who bought vehicles during the six months to June 2017. The car owners were asked about their satisfaction with their new vehicles—three months after the purchase and 12 months later. Close to 90% of those surveyed were men and 48% of them were between 31 to 45 years old.

Respondents were questioned about 24 indexes including performance and quality of brakes, engines, electronics, and tires. In each category vehicles could receive up to 1,000 points. The results of the survey are available on isqi.co.ir, Financial Tribune reported.

ISQI is a private auditing agency which carries out surveys and tests on behalf of the Ministry of Industries. In its latest report the agency compared the results of a Vehicle Dependability Study and an Initial Quality Study.

The VDS is a measure of problems experienced after one year of ownership, while the IQS is a measure of problems experienced within the first 90 days of ownership.

According to the results, satisfaction with the cars on average declined 3.7% barely after one year of ownership.

Iranian companies produce and assemble a wide range of models, including the Samand and Dena along with several Chinese, French and South Korean cars assembled inside the country.

As expected, the ISQI report shows that the locally made cars fare much badly compared to their foreign rivals, and according to buyers, corrode after one year.

According to car owners, engine performance declines by 6.5% after a year, getting a 713 score compared to 760 earned few weeks soon after purchase.

Fuel Intensive

Fuel consumption rate is among the main concerns of car buyers and is one of the features many people enquire about before buying a motor vehicle. Iran made-cars are especially notorious for their high fuel consumption—some say it is the highest in the world.

Car owners tell ISQI that with the passing of every month the gasoline consumption rate of their vehicles  increases.

They also point to significant decline in the performance of the braking system. In the Initial Quality Study, vehicles on average received 722 points out of 1,000 for the braking system performance. The number takes a big hit (661) after less than a year after use.

Customers’ satisfaction with their cars was also measured based on how much they have used the motor vehicle. The published data indicates that with every mile of commute the cars’ quality has taken a toll, with the number of technical problems that owners need to deal with gradually growing.

After driving 40,000 km customers gave the vehicles 681 points out of 1,000, indicating 4.2% decline in their satisfaction with car quality compared to results of the Initial Quality Study.

The agency said 31.8% of the cars studied in the survey were made by Iran Khodro, 24.9% by SAIPA, 23.1% Pars Khodro, 11.8% Modiran Vehicle Manufacturing Co., 7.1% Kerman Motor, and 1.3% Bahman Motor. The first two are Iran’s biggest car companies but their performance leaves much to be desired. The only reason they sell well in the chaotic car market is because their prices are lower compared to imported cars with much higher quality but at the same time out of the reach of the common man.