SAIPA Compact Sedan Spotted In India

SAIPA compact sedan has been spotted in Chennai-Bengaluru highway for the very first time.

Two variants of the SAIPA compact sedan have been spied for the first time in India. According to sources, the two cars have been imported from Iran to India. For those who are unaware of the SAIPA brand, SAIPA is an Iranian automaker founded in 1965 to assemble licensed Citreon brand cars in Iran. It later went on to manufacture cars for Renault, Nissan and Kia.

The cars being spotted in Chennai hints that the test runs could have conducted by Renault-Nissan Technology and Business Centre India (RNTBCI). In August 2017, the French carmaker entered into a JV with Industrial Development and Renovation Organisation of Iran (IDRO) and Parto Negin Naseh, an importer of Renault cars to Iran, to locally produce cars for the market. Tondar (Logan), Tondar pick-up, Sandero and Sandero Stepway are the cars manufactured by Renault as part of the partnership with SAIPA.

Both the variants of the compact sedan sporting SAIPA badge are heavily camouflaged but still did reveal some details. One seems to be the mid-level trim while the other probably was the top-end version. Interestingly, both the cars are left-hand driven. The mid-level variant had a dual-tone interior, manual gearbox and steel wheels while the top-end trim, apart from the dual-tone interior, also had 14-inch alloy wheels, automatic climate control and automatic transmission.

The Kwid has put the Renault-Nissan alliance on the global radar for all the good reasons and it doesn’t come as a surprise that Renault-Nissan India’s R&D wing is playing a key role in Renault’s Iran-spec products.

SAIPA Compact Sedan

– Two variants of SAIPA compact sedan have been spotted in India
– Could be rebadged version of Renault Symbol
– RNTBCI likely to be leading the development of Renault’s new products for the Iranian market