Peugeot Pars; When Iran Khodro made a new car from 405

Peugeot Pars was not supposed to be a revolution in the automobile industry; It was supposed to be a calculated face change on a product that was produced in Iran for years. But this simple change made one of the most durable cars in the Iranian market. A car whose roots go back to the Peugeot 405, but with a different appearance, more equipment and various versions, was able to have customers for years and continue its life even after the production of the 405 was stopped. Pars maybe on paper one month

According to the reporter of the automobile sector, Safir Arjan, if we want to talk about cars that were not only sold in Iran, but became a part of people's daily life, Peugeot Pars is undoubtedly one of the first names that comes to mind. A car that, for a large part of society, defined a relatively stylish and accessible family sedan for years, and was seen so often on the country's streets that it almost didn't need to be introduced. For a generation, Pars was the car that came to mind when talking about a family car with a relatively more luxurious appearance than the 405; A car that tried to present a fresh face to the market while maintaining many familiar technical features.

But behind this familiar appearance, there is an interesting story. In fact, Pars was not the product of a complete engineering revolution. Iran Khodro kept a large part of what it had and tried to create a product that could convey the feeling of a newer car to the customer by changing the design, equipment and some technical specifications. This decision was understandable from an economic point of view, as developing a completely new platform is very expensive and requires investment in the design of the body, chassis, engine, transmission, electronic systems, production equipment and supply chain. But when an existing platform has been produced for years and its components and manufacturing processes are known, a newer product can be brought to market with a smaller investment.

The story of Pars begins with Peugeot 405; A car that entered Iran in the 1970s and soon became one of the main products of Iran Khodro. 405 was considered a modern car when it entered the Iranian market, but over the years, its design became outdated. The car industry in the world had moved towards new generations and 405 could no longer remain an attractive product with its initial appearance. In such a situation, Iran Khodro was faced with a choice; Either he had to follow the expensive route of developing a completely new product or use the capacity of the platform he had for years to build a newer product.

The result of this decision was a car that was first known as Peugeot Persia and later took the name Peugeot Pars. At first glance, the difference between Pars and 405 was much more than what happened under the skin of the car. The front end has been changed, the lights have a different shape, the grille has been redesigned and the rear end has a new look. These changes made the car look more modern and luxurious compared to the 405, and this difference in appearance was very important for the market that struggled with older products for years.

If we look at the car from below, the story is different. Many of the main components and architecture of the car were still rooted in the same 405 family. This issue made Pars have a relatively controlled development and production cost on the one hand, and on the other hand, it could use the existing parts chain and technical know-how. This was the same formula that the Iranian automobile industry has used many times; Maintaining the infrastructure where the production chain and its parts are known and making technical and appearance changes to produce a newer product.

Economically, this method was attractive. Designing a car from scratch costs a lot, and the car manufacturer must also develop the platform, engine, gearbox, suspension system, electronic equipment and production lines in addition to the exterior design. But once a platform is in place, it is possible to make a product that looks new to the customer by changing parts of the body and cabin and upgrading the equipment. Pars used exactly this advantage and was able to find its place in a market where consumers had limited options.

In the first years of its release, the new appearance of the car attracted a lot of attention. At a time when an important part of the Iranian market was still in the hands of cars like Pikan and 405, Pars conveyed the feeling of a more expensive and modern product with new lights, a different grille and a more up-to-date design. For the Iranian customer of those years, this difference in appearance was very important. In terms of dimensions, Pars was almost in the same class as 405, but the new design made the car gain a higher position and many buyers consider it a more luxurious version of 405; A car that offered a newer look without completely distancing itself from the familiar structure.

This formula worked and Pars soon became one of the main products of Iran Khodro. Over the years, different engines were installed on it and the equipment of the car changed as well. One of the most well-known versions was Peugeot Pars with XU7 engine; The same 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that was present in 405 and Samand was also well-known in the Iranian market due to the abundance of parts and the familiarity of repairmen. XU7 was not a complex engine in terms of technical structure, which made repairmen familiar with it almost all over the country, but along with its strengths, it also had problems such as relatively high fuel consumption and the sensitivity of the cooling system and cylinder head gasket in case of improper maintenance.

Later, the TU5 engine entered the Pars family and this change was very important for many buyers. The 1.6-liter TU5 engine had differences with the XU7 in terms of fuel consumption and technical structure, and it became one of the most popular engines of the Peugeot family in the Iranian market. The use of this engine made Pars offer a more attractive combination of fuel consumption, performance and maintenance cost for some customers. Of course, the weight of the car was still high and one should not expect the performance of a sports car from a 1.6 liter engine, but for daily and family use, the combination of TU5 and Pars body was able to attract many customers.

Later, different versions of Pars entered the market and each tried to target a different segment of customers. Pars LX, ELX and other models were released with differences in engine, equipment and appearance details and gradually a relatively wide family was formed. At one point, Pars ELX was one of the most attractive versions of this family; A car with a stronger engine and more equipment tried to reduce the gap between the regular Pars and the higher-end cars in the market. This variety made Pars able to maintain different customers in the market for a longer period of time.

However, perhaps the most important thing that kept the Pars alive was neither the engine nor the design, but its extensive network of parts and services. When a car is produced in large numbers for years, the market for its parts is also formed, the repairmen master it, and the owner knows that he can find the right parts and repairman in almost any city. Pars used exactly this advantage. An owner in Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz or even a small town was almost certain to find parts for his car and a repairman familiar with the TU5 or XU7 engine would also be available.

This issue is very important in the Iranian market, because many buyers do not only look at design and features. Repair cost, price of parts, access to repairman and resale value are very important for Iranian customers. Pars had a good situation in many of these cases and this issue made its second-hand market to remain active for many years. A car that may no longer be considered technologically modern could still be the choice of a segment of the market due to predictable costs and abundant parts.

But the success of Pars had another side, and that was the long reliance of the Iranian automobile industry on an old architecture. When Pars was sold in the Iranian market, newer generations of Peugeot with completely different technologies were offered in many global markets. Newer cars had moved to more modern platforms, more fuel-efficient engines, more advanced safety systems, more extensive electronics and new body structures, while the Pars still retained a significant portion of its technical roots from the 405 family.

Here the difference between "product change" and "generation change" should be considered. Changing the lights, bumpers, grille, cabin and equipment can make a car more attractive, but it does not necessarily mean the development of a new generation. Pars was commercially successful, but technologically it could not claim to be a completely new generation of Peugeot products or even a completely independent Iran Khodro platform. This issue is one of the serious criticisms of Iran's automobile industry; In many cases, instead of investing heavily in a new platform, the industry has tried to extend the life of old products by redesigning them.

Of course, this issue cannot be attributed only to the decision of the car manufacturer. Economic conditions, sanctions, restrictions on foreign investment, technology transfer problems and the structure of the car market have also played a role in the formation of this path. But from the consumer's point of view, the final result is the same; A car that in a competitive market probably should have given way to a new generation after a few years, continued to be produced and sold in Iran for a much longer time.

Pars continued to exist even after the production of 405 was stopped, and this issue is perhaps the best sign of its commercial success. 405 left the production line, but Pars still had customers; That is, Iran Khodro was able to create a product with the same technical roots, which is a different car from the customer's point of view. This is very interesting from a marketing point of view, because the customer is not just looking at the platform and the engine; The appearance of the car, the feeling inside the cabin and the image that the product has in the mind of the society also play an important role in the choice. Pars was very successful in this field and for many years it was known as a more stylish and classy car than 405 in the minds of many people.

However, no product has an infinite lifespan. The production of Peugeot Pars was also finally stopped and this was part of the process of the withdrawal of Iran Khodro's old products from the production line. But the end of production does not mean that the car disappears from the streets. Pars has been produced for many years and there are many of them in the market. Its parts are plentiful, the repairmen are completely familiar with its technical structure, and these factors make it likely to remain one of the most numerous cars in Iran's second-hand market for many years.

If we want to judge Peugeot Pars fairly, we must have two different images of it. The first image is the image of a successful commercial product; A car that was able to combine a more attractive appearance, acceptable equipment, well-known engines and a suitable second-hand market and has customers for years. The second image is the image of a missed opportunity; A product that showed that the Iranian automobile industry can make a more attractive product from an existing platform, but it could not transfer the same ability to the development of a completely new platform and the next generations.

Peugeot Pars is actually a big contradiction in Iran's automobile industry. On the one hand, it is an example of creativity and engineering to make better use of existing facilities, and on the other hand, it is a symbol of an industry that sometimes relies so much on old products that a temporary solution becomes a permanent solution. If the Pars had only been produced for a few years and then given way to an entirely new product, we would probably today refer to it as a successful redesign project that paved the way for the next generation. But when a car stays on the market for years, a more important question arises: Why didn't the next product arrive sooner?

The answer to this question should be sought in the structure of Iran's automobile industry, not in Pars itself. Pars did everything that was expected from a product born from Dell 405, to a large extent; It changed its appearance, upgraded its equipment, got different engines and managed to sell for many years. The problem started where a whole new generation was supposed to come after that and it didn't happen as fast as expected. For this reason, Pars should be considered a success and a warning at the same time; Success in the sense that it showed that an existing infrastructure can be made into a product that the market will accept, and warning in the sense that if the same formula continues too long, the auto industry will be constantly redesigning the past instead of moving toward the future.

Peugeot Pars is no longer produced today, but its legacy will remain in the Iranian market. The car that came out of the 405 got an independent identity, remained popular for years and eventually became one of the most well-known sedans in the history of Iran. Perhaps this is the best definition for Pars; A car that was supposed to be a better version of the 405, but it remained so long that it became an independent chapter in the history of Iranian automobiles.