½ Million Dilapidated Trucks in Iran

An estimated half million dilapidated trucks are plying the roads spewing poison into the air, head of the Transportation Commission of Iran Chamber of Commerce says.
Addressing a meeting on Sunday, Mojtaba Baharvand said, “More than 500,000 old commercial vehicles are on the roads,” YJC reported.
Pointing to haphazard renovation schemes introduced by the government and local auto companies, he said they are flawed. 
Truckers who participate in the renovation schemes, in addition to sending their clunkers to the junkyard, must pay half the price of the new vehicle up front and the rest through heavy installments.
According to Baharvand, several auto companies enjoy government support in their iron-clad grip over the market. With their monopolies, the companies impose outrageous prices for commercial vehicles. Currently, a Volvo FH500 costs more than 10.8 billion rials ($104,854) in the domestic market.