Tens of Thousands of Old Trucks in Iran Continue to Operate

Various statistics have been published regarding old trucks in Iran, ranging from 127,000 to 202,000 units. However, beyond these figures, Iran has faced an aging fleet in recent years that not only exacerbates air pollution but also severely weakens road transportation. According to ISNA, Mansour Moazemi, the head of the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO), announced plans to renew '202,000 heavy vehicles' over the next three years, stating that this renovation requires '10 billion dollars in investment.' But is this amount feasible, considering Iran is currently struggling to secure the necessary budget for renewing its aviation fleet and has been unable to allocate funds for purchasing several Airbus planes this year? The Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development states that there are currently 127,000 trucks over 25 years old operating in the country's road transport fleet. Abbas Akhoundi, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, mentioned that 'if these trucks are retired and replaced with standard and new models, energy consumption in this sector would be halved. The savings from energy consumption could quickly repay the costs incurred. Additionally, the environmental situation would improve.' Truck production in Iran was about 30,000 units in 2005, with most trucks produced by well-known companies like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Renault Trucks, and Iveco. However, this number dropped to around 14,000 units in 2013, with most of the production consisting of Chinese trucks. If Iran aims to retire 202,000 trucks in three years, the domestic truck manufacturing industry would need to produce between 60,000 to 70,000 units annually. Yet, even at its best, Iran's truck manufacturing capacity is less than half of this number. Another question arises: what trucks will replace the old ones? If the answer is Chinese trucks, it can be said that obsolete trucks will be replaced with low-quality trucks, which have been reported to have numerous safety issues in recent years. During Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's eight-year presidency, extensive sanctions reduced the activities of major truck manufacturers in Iran, leading to a replacement of high-quality products from companies like Volvo and Benz with low-quality Chinese products like Howo and Dongfeng. In recent years, issues with the brakes of Howo trucks, which were assembled in Iran Khodro Diesel, have caused numerous fatal accidents on Iranian roads. Chinese trucks also incur higher repair costs compared to those from well-known global companies. The decline in the transportation system's capacity in Iran, due to economic reasons, has also impacted Iran's transit fleet. Decreased purchasing power due to the economic crisis and recession has further complicated the cycle of retiring old trucks in Iran. Although major companies like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Scania, and Renault Trucks have returned to the Iranian market following the nuclear agreement, it seems unlikely that the production capacity of factories will reach a level within the next three years that could replace 202,000 old trucks in Iran with products from these companies.