Iran plans to place 400,000 electric motorcycles and 140,000 hybrid taxi cabs on the market as part of a plan backed by the Oil Ministry to help environment protection, said the managing director of Iran Fuel Conservation Company (IFCC).

Elaborating on the government’s above-stated plan, Nosratollah Seifi said, “Due to incomplete combustion, some motorcycles pollute the air four times as much as automobiles.”

According to Tehran Times, Seifi stated that some production companies have held talks on manufacturing electric motorcycles with officials of the Ministry of Industry and Mines and the Interior Ministry, adding that if the plan is implemented, a manufacturer will receive $300 for each electric motorbike it produces. Once the plan is implemented, only electric motorcycles will be allowed on the streets of central Tehran.

He added that the IFCC also has a plan to get rid of 140 taxi cabs that use gasoline and replace them with 140 hybrid or CNG-powered taxi cabs. However, the CNG-powered vehicles must be able to travel 400 kilometres on a full tank of fuel in order to be covered by the plan, whereas the vehicles currently being used can only travel 150 kilometers on a full tank of fuel.

He noted that the IFCC devised plan must be approved by Iran’s Economic Council and implemented by other relevant organizations. “Measures have been taken to provide domestic companies the technical expertise necessary to manufacture electric cars, and test production is scheduled to begin in a few months. If hybrid cars cannot be produced domestically, they can be imported. In addition, the manufacturer will receive $6000 for each vehicle produced,” Seifi said.

via Iran to produce 0.4m electric motorcycles to help reduce air pollution.