One-third of automobiles in Tehran failed emission and safety tests during the current Iranian year’s first eight months (March 21-Nov. 21), Tehran’s Vehicle Technical Inspection Bureau announced.
Hossein Moqaddam, CEO of the bureau, noted that during the period under review, 1.05 million vehicles visited the capital's technical inspection centers, 792,000 of which were under four years old and underwent their first technical check, ISNA reported.
“Thirty-one percent of the cars, numbering 325,500, were rejected,” he said.
High emission levels were detected in 14%, wheel misalignment in 9%, shock absorber failure in 4%, brake system problems in 11% and appearance issues were detected in 14% of the tests.
The official said 753,000 technical certificates have been issued, of which 601,000 were regular and 152,000 were premium.
The premium certificate has higher standards than that of regular technical inspection. While under normal tests, vehicles’ emissions are monitored in a low-speed performance, the carbon monoxide emission of cars is assessed at 2,500 rpm for receiving the premium certificate.
Thirty-one percent of the cars, numbering 325,500, failed technical inspection tests during March 21-Nov. 21
Announcing that cars visiting the inspection centers averaged 5,000 per day, the official said the test duration has declined to less than an hour after an online booking system was launched and centers were increased.
According to Moqaddam, 8,000 visits during the month ending Nov. 22 were booked online, which constitute 31% of the total online reservation’s capacity.
He urged people to find less crowded centers on the inspection bureau’s website to save more time.
“During the period under review, 2,575 heavy-duty vehicles have also undergone road tests, out of which 22% did not have the mandatory technical certificate and 19% of all tested vehicles failed to meet the minimum test standards,” he added.
Since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21), 645 trucks have been fined for their substandard condition.
Moqaddam said commercial vehicles were subjected to tests in collaboration with Tehran’s traffic police in November 2018 to curb the suffocating air pollution in the metropolis.
Effects on Air Quality
Vehicles that do not meet local emission and safety standards spew poison into the air, harm people’s health and damage the environment.
Tehran Municipality’s Transportation and Traffic Organization has estimated that air pollution in the capital costs $2.6 billion annually.
Air quality in the capital is worsening, with the increasing number of faulty vehicles and almost zero efforts for scrappage.
According to Amir Ahmadi, secretary of the Association for Scrappage and Recycling Centers, the number of dilapidated vehicles on Tehran's streets has reached 3.5 million and is expected to hit 8 million in four years, if no scrappage is carried out.
Earlier in October, he told reporters that the state's Scrappage Scheme has been abandoned for more than three years due to mismanagement and tactlessness, resulting in the closure of over 220 scrappage centers across the country.
The plan was proposed in tandem with the implementation of the Clean Air Act, a 35-article bill drafted by Iran's Department of Environment and enacted into law in July 2017. Unfortunately, the act was never fully implemented.
Elaborating about the act, Ahmadi stated that CAA considers two sources of air pollution, mobile and stationary, offering solutions for each and involving several executive entities in implementing the remedies.
The official emphasized that as a consequence of canceling the scheme, hundreds of workers were laid off due to the closure of scrappage centers.
“Additionally, the age-old, technically-flawed vehicles exacerbate road traffic, worsen air pollution and increase fuel consumption. These outcomes even worsen in the cold season due to the temperature inversion phenomenon,” he added.
Ahmadi urged the government to reorganize the executive units and resume the Scrappage Scheme, pointing to the fact that the project’s revival requires the active collaboration of Roads Ministry and the Department of Environment.
Poor Consequences
Launched in 2016, the Scrappage Scheme was cancelled by the last government in October 2017.
A couple of months later, the ban on auto imports was the last nail in the coffin of the Scrappage Scheme.
The scrappage centers started to shut down one after another, as domestic carmakers were exempted from the scheme and auto imports became history.
Mohammad Shariatmadari, a former industries minister, was at the time quoted as saying that the scrappage “plan will have a huge negative impact on the domestic market and lead to higher prices”.
He warned that the plan would “negatively affect both car buyers and dealers”. His predictions came true soon after the scheme was partially implemented on Sept. 17, 2017, and the Traffic Police stopped issuing license plates to eight vehicles, namely Cherry Tiggo5, Arizo5, MVM X33, JAC S5, Lifan 820, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Haima S7 and BYD S6.
For each of these vehicles with a fuel consumption rate of over 8.5 liters per 100 kilometers, the auto company was required to pay the government 25 million rials ($80). Hypothetically, the money was to be used for removing the dilapidated gas guzzlers from the roads.
Until the amount was paid, license plates were not given to those vehicles. However, as the car companies refused to comply, car buyers got a raw deal and were compelled to bear the extra burden.
These vehicles were made or assembled by Iran Khodro, Modiran Vehicle Manufacturing, Kerman Khodro and Karmania.
The main aim of the Scrappage Scheme was reportedly to help reduce the worsening air pollution caused largely by dilapidated cars. However, its early revocation was the sound of music for automakers who once again resumed their old operations like it was business as usual.
