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Fuel rationing has forced Iran’s largest car-maker to scale down the manufacture of petrol-powered engines and increase production of dual-fuel cars that can also run on natural gas, the company’s manager said.
In an attempt to reduce Iran’s multi-billion dollar petrol import bill, the government suddenly imposed fuel rationing, sparking riots and outcry among consumers used to subsidised prices.
Iran Khodro, one of the largest car manufacturers in the Middle East, opened its doors to international media last week to boast its industrial achievements and unveil its ability to produce the dual-fuel cars, which can consume both petrol and CNG.
Iran’s state-owned car-makers had anticipated fuel rationing and begun to adapt their production, said Manouchehr Manteghi, the company’s manager. “Of 2,200 cars we produce every day, 1,300 are dual-fuel cars,” Manteghi told reporters.
“In less than a month, it will reach 1,500 cars. We have also switched our production line to low fuel consuming cars,” he said.
Iran Khodro, which produces 600,000 cars each year, says it has also designed a CNG-based engine that is expected to reach mass production in October.
This development will greatly help Iran reduce, and even stop in the long run, importing petrol from abroad, it says.
President Ahmadinejad said reduced reliance on imported petrol would make the country less vulnerable to international pressure, at a time when Iran is at odds with the West over its nuclear programme.
Iranian experts had warned that Iran’s oil spending could exceed its oil revenues within the next 10 years if fuel consumption was not contained. Iran’s government currently earns 80 per cent of its income from crude oil exports. The government says fuel consumption has reduced since the fuel rationing began last month. Officials also say pollution in the capital Tehran has reduced as a result of less traffic.
