The imminent appearance in Russia of inexpensive SAIPA cars – Iran’s second largest car brand – was discussed last year, and it was also planned [локализация производства](https://motor.ru/news/saipa-local-production-21-08-2023.htm). In the spring, the official distributor of SAIPA, Best Motors LLC, announced the upcoming start of sales, but this never happened: they decided to refuse supplies due to the changed economic situation in the country, which made trade in “Iranians” unprofitable.
Best Motors realized that they would not be able to sell Iranian cars at the price they planned to set, and therefore decided to refuse supplies and liquidate the company. The reason is due to exchange rates and increased recycling fees. According to the CEO of Best Motors, Alexander Stepanov, an Iranian car must be 20-30 percent cheaper than a Chinese one in order to become successful in the market, but in the current conditions this is impossible.
“At that time, the SAIPA brand was interesting in pricing and everything else. And then it became uninteresting, economically unprofitable, that’s all,” said Best Motors CEO Alexander Stepanov.
In the spring of 2023, the distributor announced that the first batch of SAIPA cars – Saina and Shahin sedans, as well as Quik hatchbacks – would arrive in Russia in June. Their cost was supposed to range from one to 1.7 million rubles. Details about the cars were revealed in April, but sales did not begin within the specified period, and the SAIPA website stopped working.
SAIPA is also stalling in neighboring Belarus: certification has been delayed, and it is not yet known when the Vehicle Type Approval (VTA), necessary to start sales, will be issued.
The situation is also unclear with Iran Khodro, another brand from Iran, which intended to fill the voids in the changed Russian market and compete with AvtoVAZ in the budget segment. Branded cars are transported, but through parallel imports.
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