Fifteen domestically-produced vehicles, including passenger cars and pickup trucks, have been barred from registering and receiving license plates from the Department of Environment. This is in line with a March 2012 government directive that all gasoline and hybrid (gasoline/natural gas) vehicles produced after March 2016 must comply with Euro 4 emission standards, according to Saeed Motessadi, a deputy at DOE. “We repeatedly warned all automakers that we would enforce the directive and urged them to ensure their products comply with Euro 4 emissions standards,” Motessadi was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency. The 15 vehicles are produced by five manufacturers: IKCO, Bahman Motor, Pars Khodro, SAIPA and Zamyad. The move is part of a comprehensive plan by the government to reduce air pollution in Iran, especially in eight metropolises, namely Tehran, Tabriz, Shiraz, Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj, Ahvaz and Arak. According to figures released by the Health Ministry, air pollution contributes to about 80,000 premature deaths every year in Iran.
