Commercial Vehicles to Get Tires Online

EghtesadOnline: As a pilot plan introduced by the Industries Ministry, tires for heavy-duty vehicles will be sold at factory prices to truckers in Qazvin Province via an online platform as of May 22.

News ID: ۷۸۴۶۶۳

14 May 2019

As per the scheme, which will be implemented in collaboration with interior and roads ministries, commercial vehicle drivers will be able to purchase tires at factory prices, by submitting their vehicle's specifics and ID number on the website, Mehr News Agency reported.

The online platform is yet to be publicly introduced.

The number of tires that drivers will be eligible to receive depends on criteria such as their average travel distance per month, the condition of roads taken by them and the type of cargo they are handling, Financial Tribune reported.

Further details and regulations set for the applicants are to be announced later by the Industries Ministry.

Officials say that after the plan’s launch in Qazvin, the scheme will be executed nationwide.

The move is to tackle volatility in tire market, thwart dealers' attempts to manipulate prices and provide drivers of commercial vehicles with tires at lower than market prices.

Several local companies, including Kavir Tire and Yazd Tire, used to produce tires for trucks and cars in large volumes. Their production, together with imports, easily met domestic demand.

However, after US President Donald Trump reneged on Iran’s nuclear accord and imposed sanctions against Tehran last summer, many foreign suppliers of raw materials to tire manufacturers suspended collaboration with Iranian firms.

With the shortage in raw materials, tire production declined significantly. This has caused shortages and turmoil in the domestic tire market.

Although there is no credible data on demand for heavy-duty tires in Iran, according to Mohammad Reza Bajestani, an official with the Industries Ministry, local truckers annually need an estimated 350,000 tons of tires.

According to the latest data, Iran’s cargo truck fleet has 359,700 active heavy-duty vehicles.