31 Percent of Vehicles in Tehran Flunk Technical Inspection Tests

EghtesadOnline: One-third of automobiles on Tehran's roads failed emission and safety tests, during the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Aug. 22).

News ID: ۷۸۶۹۰۲

28 August 2021

Hossein Moqaddam, CEO of Tehran Vehicle Technical Inspection Bureau, said that during the period under review, 691,282 vehicles visited the capital's technical inspection centers, of which 523,000 were under four years old and underwent their first technical check, ISNA reported.

"Thirty-one percent of the visitors, numbering 214,297, were rejected, 14% of which did not receive the certificate due to high emission, 9% for wheel alignment, 4% for shock absorber failure, 11% for brake system problems and 13% for appearance issues,” he added.

The official noted that during the period, 498,666 technical certificates have been issued, of which 392,040 were regular and 106,626 were premium.

The premium certificate has higher standards than the regular technical inspection certificate. While under normal tests, vehicles’ emissions are monitored in a low-speed performance, the carbon monoxide emission of cars is assessed at 2,500 rpm for receiving the premium certificate.

Announcing that cars visiting the test centers have increased to 5,100 per day, the official said the test time has reduced to less than an hour after an online booking system was launched and inspection centers were increased.

According to Moqaddam, 8,000 visits during the month ending Aug. 22 were booked online, which is 43% of the total online reservation system’s capacity.

The official noted that people can save more time by finding less crowded centers on the inspection bureau’s website.

The official said that during the period under review, 1,216 heavy-duty vehicles have also undergone road tests, out of which 24% did not have the mandatory technical license. Furthermore, 23% of all tested vehicles failed to meet the minimum test standards.

Since the beginning of the current year, 406 trucks have been fined for substandard operation.

Moqaddam said the commercial vehicles were subjected to tests in collaboration with Tehran’s traffic police in November 2018, to curb the suffocating air pollution in the metropolis.

Dangers and Measures

Vehicles that do not meet local emission and safety standards spew poison into the air, harm people’s health and damage the environment.

Tehran Municipality’s Transportation and Traffic Organization has estimated that air pollution in the capital costs $2.6 billion annually.

To curb the worsening problem, TM has devised several schemes to regulate vehicles plying the city’s roads.

In November 2018, the technical inspection certificate became mandatory for all two- and four-wheelers plying the capital’s streets.

The Air Pollution Reduction Scheme bars smog-inducing clunkers from entering the already clogged roads of the metropolis and those found in breach are fined.

As per the latest scheme dubbed Air Pollution Control, each vehicle can enter a "restricted zone" in central Tehran for a maximum of 20 days each season (three months), or 80 days a year for free.

Spread over 88.5 square kilometers in central Tehran, the zone is bounded by Imam Ali (AS) Expressway in the east, Navvab Expressway and Chamran Highway in the west, Besat Expressway in the south and Hemmat Expressway in the north.

As per APC, if motorists wish to enter the zone more than the number of times allowed without charge in the plan, they need to pay a toll fee.

Besides the two, the Traffic Scheme is being enforced in an area limited by Motahari Street (north), Shariati Street (east), Kargar (west) and Shoosh (south). Cars, except for public transportation vehicles, are barred from entering the area between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Private vehicles need to pay 550,000 rials ($2) to enter the zone.

These schemes have been implemented in the hope of easing Tehran’s air pollution. However, they cannot address the issue until a significant change is made in the quality of locally-produced vehicles.

Quality Improvement

Iran Standards and Quality Inspection Company has released its latest report on ranking locally-made cars, which indicate a slight improvement in vehicle quality during the Iranian month ending June 21.

The vehicles are ranked from one to a maximum of five stars based on their quality.

The automobiles are divided into five price categories, with the least costing 1 billion rials ($3,770) and the most expensive priced at 10 billion rials ($37,730), according to the article.

Following quality inspections in the month ending Jan. 20, the automatic Dena Plus Turbo made by the leading domestic automaker Iran Khodro (IKCO) received five stars that have been retained by the model.

Quick, a small city car made by SAIPA, has kept its four out of five stars in the ranking.

Four- and three-star categories were the largest groups, mainly featuring IKCO and SAIPA models.

Peugeot 405 made by IKCO and SAIPA’s Pride models have been phased out, because they suffered from several safety failures and never earned over two stars in the ISQI ranking.

The former is a large family car released by the French automaker Peugeot in July 1987, the production of which was discontinued in Europe in 1997.

SAIPA’s small city car, Pride, had been produced in Iran for decades.

Pride was originally developed for Japanese and South Korean markets in the late 1980s. The car was widely sold in the United States as a Ford Festiva in the early 1990s. It entered the Iranian market in 1993 under license from Kia and continues to be a cash cow for SAIPA.