Campervans are not a common sight on the roads of Iran, which is one of the largest automotive hubs in the Middle East.
Foreign tourists may have been the only groups to have used such vehicles inside Iran and their numbers have been in the low dozens.
With hopes of altering this trend, a group of young, adventurous Iranians have started promoting campervans in Iran. Their automotive company has started altering trucks, buses and vans to create recreational vehicles, ISNA reported.
The young team has established a production line for campervans and sealed a deal with Iran’s traffic police so that permits would be issued to officially allow the vehicles to ply the streets.
The Iranian campervans are priced between 1.7-2 billion rials ($48,000–$58,000 at market exchange rate)—the same amount as a 50-square meter apartment in the cheaper neighborhoods of the capital.
According to Hamid Reza Chavoshi, production line manager of Negin Caravan Maham Company, the price fits the quality and amenities that come with the vans.
“Just the chassis, which is made in Iran, costs 1 billion rials ($28,000),” he said.
The campers come with a shower, bathroom, gas stove, refrigerator, microwave, water-heater, wastewater system, air-conditioning, GPS and rear-view sensor cameras.
The company started operating three years ago and according to Chavoshi, there is plenty of room for improvement.
“I must confess that what we have made today can be compared to the models available in Europe some 30 years ago, but still it is a good start,” he said.
“The wastewater system is rather basic and must be improved with advanced technologies.”
The manager noted that although the team has tried to use locally-sourced parts, the engines are manufactured by Nissan and the gearboxes are made by Germany’s ZF. Excluding the chassis and gear, 60% of the parts are from China and the rest is made in Iran.
During the short time that the vans were unveiled at Tehran’s Permanent Fairground, the campervans have been warmly received by plenty of people.
These were first showcased in Iran’s Ninth Tehran International Tourism Exhibition held in February 2016 and managed to grab the attention of several visitors.
Currently, the campervans are not manufactured on a regular schedule, but are instead made on customers’ demand.
According to the manufacturers, it takes three months for customers to receive their campervans after an order is placed.
