The Iranian government plans to accelerate the development of hybrid, bi-fuel, and electric vehicle production under a new strategy to manage energy consumption and reduce gasoline usage.
President Masoud Pezeshkian outlined the course, ordering reforms in fuel rationing, public transport development, and the production of low-fuel-consumption vehicles.
Authorities expect that the shift to hybrid and bi-fuel vehicles will reduce the burden on oil refineries, decrease the need for gasoline imports, and enhance the country's energy security.
Special attention is being paid to vehicles running on natural gas, as Iran has some of the world's largest reserves of this resource. The government believes that wider use of gas in the transport sector will help cut foreign currency spending on fuel imports and improve the efficiency of domestic energy resource utilization.
Under a five-year development plan, automakers must increase the output of eco-friendly and fuel-efficient vehicles. The government also intends to support industry modernization through concessional financing, localization of hybrid vehicle component production, and the introduction of modern technologies.
Iran has already begun producing hybrid cars and electric buses, which are gradually being added to the public transport fleet. However, according to automotive industry expert Amir-Hassan Kakai, mass production of such vehicles requires significant investment and the development of corresponding infrastructure.
The expert emphasized that the main problem remains the high level of fleet aging: out of 27 million vehicles in the country, more than 17 million have been in use significantly longer than global standards. In his view, renewing the transport fleet and developing public transport, especially electric buses, could have a greater effect than a mass shift to electric passenger cars.
Kakai also noted that the environmental impact of electric vehicles in Iran is still limited, as a significant portion of the country's electricity is still generated from fossil fuels. Therefore, the transition to new types of transport must be accompanied by modernization of the energy system and the development of renewable energy sources.