EV Race Heats Up in Shiraz

Industrial and tech sectors in Shiraz, the provincial center of Fars, have entered the race for electric vehicle development, hoping to curb air pollution and fuel consumption.
During a Tuesday event, the head of local automaker Khodro Sazan Jonoub Company, Siamak Hojjat, the head of Shiraz’s Industries, Mining and Trade Organization, Hamidreza Izadi, and Rouhollah Azizi, the head of Iranian Telecommunications Manufacturing Company, signed an agreement to produce an EV prototype, named Oxygen, by September, ISNA reported. 
Based on its draft design, Oxygen will be equipped with an 8.6-kilowatt domestically-made battery and a control system that makes it suitable for plying in Iran’s arid and semi-arid landscape. 
“The vehicle will be over 80% localized as the key electric components will be produced by ITMC,” Hojjat said, noting that the project is able to create thousands of direct jobs in Shiraz.