Car Thieves Love Iran-Made Peugeots

EghtesadOnline: Several videos have emerged online purporting to show Iranian-made Peugeots being broken into with astonishing speed. Dozens of videos uploaded to Iran’s local video upload website aparat.com show that cars ranging from Peugeot 405, Pars and 206 are easy to enter in a matter of seconds in very surprising ways.

News ID: ۷۷۳۹۱۳

13 February 2017

In some of the videos small screwdrivers can be seen and used to open  a locally produced Peugeot 405 drivers’ door in two seconds flat, the same person is also seen opening the trunk of the same vehicle in barely ten seconds, according to a report in the French version of France 24 TV.

In another incident, one man is seen in the daylight bending the door of a Peugeot 206 sedan in a few seconds. He then reaches into the dashboard area and takes off with a video head unit – even as the car’s security alarm and lights start flashing.

One unnamed local Iranian expert told the news channel, “The second most used method [screwdriver] takes advantage of the old locking system that is used by Peugeot in several of its models made in Iran. It is a mechanical system easy to manipulate, unlike the new electronic devices utilized by some competitors in Iran, including Renault.”

According to Financial Tribune, Iranian police have confirmed that the local Peugeot’s are the second most commonly stolen and broken into vehicles across the country.

At a press conference in June 2016, General Ali Ghiasvand, head of the police’s anti-car theft department said Peugeot cars are the second most stolen group in Iran. The first being the locally produced SAIPA Pride which is famous for its cheap build quality and ease of theft.

Alex Vannier, head of press relations for Peugeot’s global office in Paris said he was surprised to hear of the break-ins to his company’s vehicles.

“Peugeot’s team in Iran were not aware of these online videos, and did not have any complaints from their customers on the subject,” he added.

For him, the first explanation lies in the age of the Iranian car fleet: “In the images, it is essentially [Peugoet] 405 produced in Iran in the 1980s. These vehicles do not have the same level of security as today.”

However, the vehicles on show are much newer including the Peugeot 206 SD which was first introduced to the local market from 2009 onwards.

Vannier also noted that it was no surprise that Peugeot would be so high up on the car break-in charts as the company has at least one-third share of the entire automotive sales market in Iran.

The company official further said with the joint venture deal signed with Iran Khodro (called IKAP) newer models will replace their older peers. The new models include the 208, 301 and 2008 which will enter the market later this year.