variant related product

-- HikaShop version -- : 5.1.6
-- Joomla version -- : 5.2.2
-- PHP version -- : 8.2.20
-- Browser(s) name and version -- : chrome latest, firefox, etc.

Hi guys,

I have a question regarding product variants and related products functionality in HikaShop.

We are currently using HikaShop for an automotive parts webshop, and we have a specific use case that we are not sure how to properly implement with the default system.

Our structure:

We have products structured like this:

Product A: SKU 12312
contains 7 variants (e.g. Variant 1–7)
Product B: SKU 43234
also contains 7 corresponding variants (Variant 1–7)
Requirement:

We need to establish a relationship at variant level, not at product level.

For example:

Variant 5 of product 12312 (e.g. front left brakedisc)
should automatically be associated with
Variant 5 of product 43234 (e.g. front right brakedisc)

This pairing is consistent across all variants (1–7), meaning each variant index should map to the same index in the paired product.

Issue:

We noticed that HikaShop’s “related products” feature works only at product level and not at variant (child product) level. We also could not find a built-in way to assign related products individually per variant.

Question:

Is there any native way in HikaShop to:

assign related products per variant / characteristic value, or
implement variant-to-variant relationships between different parent products?

If not, could you recommend the best practice or extension approach for handling this kind of cross-product variant pairing?

We would like to avoid custom hacks if there is an intended or recommended solution.

Thank you very much for your help.

Best regards,
Zsolt