Iranian motorcycle manufacturers have roughly ten months to upgrade standards or halt production altogether.
The government of President Hassan Rouhani introduced a directive back in 2014 promising to shutter production of substandard motorbikes effective from March 2018, the administration has decided to extend the deadline, reported ISNA.
According to the administration's directive, motorcycle manufacturers were licensed to make bikes with Euro3 emission standards but had four years to upgrade their equipment to produce bikes with Euro4 standards from March 2018 onwards.
The deadline arrived with the year beginning in March and production of motorcycles suspended when it became clear that the manufacturers have not been adequately outfitted to make Euro4 two-wheelers.
Following the suspension, Iran Motorcycle Manufacturers’ Syndicate made a request to the Department of Environment, to extend the deadline for ten months until Dec. 22.
The DOE and the government have agreed to the new cut-off date. It is now up to manufacturers to make good on their projected schedule.
>Unending Fracas
As part of the government's green agenda to combat pollution, the Rouhani administration decided to exercise its authority by regulating the notorious motorcycle production business.
On April 30, 2014, the administration issued a directive setting a timeline for bike manufacturers to switch to producing Euro4 cycles, granting them four years to comply with the new standards.
A second measure taken by Rouhani and his officials was to ban production of carburetor-equipped motorbikes from Sept. 22, 2016.
The objective was to replace the carburetor-equipped motorbikes with fuel- injection ones.
A third initiative was put forward by Tehran Municipality to offer incentives for purchasing electric motorbikes.
As for the first solution, the government has made concessions to the industry by extending the deadline.
As for the second measure, while the Traffic Police refuses to issue license plates to bikes that fail to meet the standards, the previously produced carburetor-equipped motorbikes are still plying the streets and worsening the pollution.
Aware of the fact that the official ban was coming into effect, some manufacturers produced and registered unusually large numbers of carbureted motorcycles earlier to make an extra buck.
The third method has also suffered a setback as the administration is in no shape make inexpensive loans. Even if they managed to arrange funds for the scheme, it would still not make electric bikes affordable to the low-income strata.
Another scheme was also declared last week for potential producers of electric two-wheelers to register with the Management and Planning Organization's website.
The website's announcement reads, "In order to replace gas-powered bikes with electric ones [a subject of Article 18 of the budget law for the current fiscal], and to decrease pollution and optimize fuel consumption, the Management and Planning Organization is looking to identify eligible manufacturers."
Those interested can submit their information to http://EMP.mporg.ir.
>Makers’ Side of the Story
A member of Iran Motorcycle Manufacturers’ Syndicate says politicians’ overnight decisions for the sector have crippled production, forced many firms to shutter their factories and eliminated 10,000 jobs.
During the year ending in March 2018, 153,000 fuel-injection motorbikes were produced, down 80% from the year before when both fuel-injection and carbureted motorcycles were manufactured in Iran.
Abolfazl Hejazi criticized the government for its strategy saying they will dismantle the motorcycle industry and give room to even more imports.
“Fuel-injection engines are imported from India and China. We have asked them to improve conditions to allow us to produce Euro4 standard two-wheelers.”
Hejazi pointed to the absence of necessary infrastructure for the implementation of the government's scheme, noting that "there are few gas stations that offer Euro4 gasoline in Tehran, and small towns do not have such gas stations at all. Should a bike with Euro4 standards use substandard fuel, its engine will be impaired.”
> Conundrum
With 2,600 premature pollution-related deaths every year, Iran is among the top five countries in terms of air pollution mortality. Motorcycles are a major nuisance in the capital and contribute terribly to the toxic air that for years has closed down schools and offices at irregular intervals and filled hospital beds.
Studies by sociologists indicate that the main reason for the high number of motorcycles is the fact that they have become a convenient means for making a living for many people, especially those on the dole queue.
Due to Tehran’s heavy traffic snarls, many commuters, who need to get somewhere quickly, prefer to take a motorcycle instead of a taxi.
According to figures released by the Traffic Police in 2016, 70% of motorcyclists (2.1 million) use their motorbikes to earn money and only 30% for personal transport.
One of the most difficult conundrums faced by the country is to choose between the livelihood of the low-income or the public health. Government incentives can pave the way for a win-win situation, but considering the current state of affairs, the people are stuck in a zero-sum game.
