SAIPA Mulling Options to Replace Pride

EghtesadOnline: Reports from the SAIPA Group show that the second major local carmaker is mulling over alternatives to the production of Pride, the company’s cheapest model which is manufactured in Iran for almost three decades.

News ID: ۷۸۱۹۱۳

25 February 2018

Local automotive website Asbe Bokhar says that three of the options considered are Datsun Go, Renault Kwid and Zotye’s T600.

Pride is the cheapest car made in Iran. It sells for 210 to 240 million rials ($4,600 to $5,300).

In India, the Kwid is priced at $6,000 while Nissan’s subsidiary Datsun offers Go in the range of $3,800 to $6,000, Financial Tribune reported.

The price of Zotye’s T600 ranges between 96,000 yuan to 150,000 yuan ($15,000 to $23,700) depending on options in China, which is significantly higher than the Pride and certainly will not be affordable for low-income people.

It merits mention that SAIPA is infamous for slapping prices that are considered exorbitantly over and above their real value. As such, the prices of its future products cannot  be predicted.

Both the Datsun GO and the Renault Kwid are identical under the skin as they are built on the same Renault-Nissan Alliance’s CMF-A platform and share the same powertrain.

Informed sources had said earlier that SAIPA is on verge of acquiring the production rights to the Kwid. It is also reported that the company has held negotiations with Datsun on several occasions.

In terms of dimensions, the Kwid is both longer and wider at 3,679 mm and 1,579 mm respectively than the Datsun GO which is, 3,429 mm long and 1,560 mm wide.

The third option, Zotye’s T600 is a Chinese crossover with 188hp and 2.0 turbocharged engine.