The unending saga of hybrid car import tariffs has taken another turn for the worse as the government decided to once again raise the rates by 10%.
The officials have once again increased the customs duties levied on hybrid cars by 10%, putting forth a cryptic argument that “hybrid vehicles cannot be exempted from the rise in tariffs on gasoline-fueled cars,” reported the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad.
This is while the administration had made concessions on hybrid car import tariffs to conciliate the outraged public and a media firestorm which was ignited after a controversial January directive which called for a spike in tariff rates by 65%.
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Domestic Hybrids Production Also Hits a Brick Wall |
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The figures released by the Industries Ministry indicate a slide in the production of CNG hybrid vehicles during the first month of the new Iranian year ending on April 20.
Out of the 76,239 vehicles produced during the period, merely 5.57% are CNG hybrids, marking a substantial decline as the units produced totaled 4,252, marking a 43.9% year-on-year drop. Production of CNG hybrids can be seen as a failed drive in Iran as the quality of the vehicles never satisfied customers, leading to the steep downtrend in their production output.
Carmakers’ decision to transform gasoline-fueled vehicles into hybrid ones made for a bumpy ride for customers used to higher acceleration.
Manufacture of hybrid vehicles was undertaken to curb pollution and improve the environment, a measure that has largely proved a costly failure.
Major carmakers SAIPA and Iran Khodro have four hybrid models on offer, namely hybrid versions of the Peugeot 405, locally designed Samand, Renault’s Logan (locally better known as L90) and the homegrown small city car Tiba.
The hybrid sedans based on the almost three-decade old Peugeot 405 and Samand are infamous for low quality; and several incidents have been reported that the vehicles’ engines or gas tankers have blown up causing damage and casualties and in some cases fatalities.
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