People still opt to buy conventional, highly-polluting vehicles in favor of more ecofriendly alternatives, such as hybrid and electric vehicles mainly because of their affordability. Speaking to Mehr News Agency, Muhammad Hadi Heydarzadeh, director of the Tehran office of the Department of Environment, said hybrid cars and electric motorcycles will help improve the capital’s air quality, “but as long as their prices remain high, people will never buy them.” He also said that the lack of infrastructure, such as charging stations for electric vehicles, hampers the government’s effort to encourage the public to purchase ecofriendly vehicles. Tehran’s endless struggle with air pollution and smog is generally blamed on the five million vehicles that ply the streets of the metropolis, believed to be responsible for around 80% of the city’s air pollution problem.
