Iran sets new record in vehicle scrappage in 10 years as dealing with air pollution

Iran set a new record in car scrapping amid efforts to control air pollution in large cities and to help auto manufacturers facing economic challenges due to western sanctions.

News ID: 6014

Date: 16 February 2025 - 10:46

TABNAK, Feb 16: CEO of Iran’s Industrial Development & Renovation Organization (IDRO) said that some 328,000 vehicles had been covered by a scrappage scheme launched by the government at the start of the current calendar year in late March 2024.

Farshad Moghimi said the figure was more than a previous annual record of 321,000 vehicles reported in 2014.

“By scrapping this number of vehicles in the current (calendar) year, there has been a reduction in fuel consumption of some 2.6 billion liters which is worth $2.9 billion in export terms,” said Moghimi.

The official, who also serves as a deputy industry minister, said that the number of vehicles scrapped until the end of the calendar year in March 2025 would reach 340,000 units, adding that the figure would reach half a million in the next calendar year.

Another industry ministry official gave a breakdown of the vehicle scappage figures in Iran, saying that some 312,000 of those scrapped vehicles were passenger cars and pickup trucks and the remaining 12,000 were heavy trucks and busses.

Mehran Salarieh said that some 90% of the owners of the scrapped vehicles had been compensated with cash, adding that the rest had received new cars, pickup trucks, or taxis in return.

Iran has seen a rise in domestic manufacturing of cars in recent years amid restrictions imposed on imports because of foreign sanctions.

The country’s largest carmaker IKCO said last month that it had manufactured 2,505 cars on January 25 to register a new record in its daily output.