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Iran scraps electric, hybrid car import tariffs

    TIN news:    The Iranian government has eliminated the import tariffs on electric and hybrid cars with engines of 2500cc and smaller.
 
This is the first time Iran has dropped import tariffs on a class of electric and hybrid cars, the Mehr News Agency quoted Iranian Deputy Industry, Mines, and Trade Minister Valiollah Afkhami Rad as saying on Sunday.
 
An electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one electric motor or more, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle.
 
In February, Iranian MP Ali Alilou of the Majlis Industries and Mines Committee said Iran was planning to cut all car import tariffs to zero in two year’s time. 
 
He said the measure was necessary to boost domestic production and make the auto industry competitive. The MP urged the government to stop propping up Iran’s struggling automobile sector, since its products are widely criticized in the country for their low quality and high prices.
 
The automobile industry, the biggest non-oil sector of the Iranian economy, constituting around 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), boomed over the decade ending in 2011 due to the backing of the government and the dearth of international competitors in the domestic market. The administration of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad increased car import duties as much as 90 percent in 2013, a measure that experts believe led to a marked deterioration of quality in the Iranian market, which is dominated by the triopoly of the three major car manufacturers: Iran Khodro, Pars Khodro, and Saipa.

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