TEHRAN- At least 10,000 hybrid cars will join Tehran’s taxi fleet within three years, said Meysam Mozaffar, head of the Taxi Driving Organization of Tehran.

The plan aims to import hybrid taxis as well as vehicles meeting Euro-5 standard, he said, adding that contracts have been signed with private sector investors in this regard, the Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

Mozaffar also said that 200 of such vehicles have already joined the fleet. “The cars will be used at airports, hotels and luxurious places.”

A hybrid vehicle uses two or more distinct types of power, such as internal combustion engine plus electric motor.

The use of substandard gasoline in the country’s big cities has dramatically worsened air pollution.

Tehran is known for its poor air quality, because of an altitude ranging from 1,100-1,700 meters above sea level in a basin surrounded by mountains and also due to exhaust fumes from more than four million cars plying the roads of the city.

PT/M