Iran is requiring car makers to make only hybrid cars to lessen their dependence on oil. Will this help?

Question

Engineer, uh, whats your thoughts on the question?

Answer 1

Somewhat.  Our hybrid Honda gets 40 mpg.  But my Diesel powered VW got 44.

Answer 2

Well if they don't do it I know what will happen. They will loose there heads.

Answer 3

I predict that if this is true that it will be a massive boondoggle.

Answer 4

who cares what Iran is doing -- they import their fuel (as they cannot crack it --) while they export crude -- shows how smart and educated they are

Answer 5

I never knew Iran had car makers...

Do you mean they want cars they import to be hybrids?

Who do they buy cars from? The French? Well, those guys will do whatever Iran tells them to do.

Answer 6

I am not aware that Iran produces any autombiles.  You must mean reworking cars to burn CNG which is not too terribly complicated.  But I don't think that Iran has an automobile manufacturing industry.  Its probably not permitted by some cleric who declared a jihad on pistons or something.

Answer 7

This will lessen demand for oil but increase demand for lithium and silver

Answer 8

Iran currently imports much of it's gasoline, this in spite of being one of the worlds largest oil producers. This has created a massive vulnerability whereby they could suffer gasoline shortages if the United States were able to impose a gasoline embargo on Iran. The US is threatening to do exactly that.

Iran also is a massive producer of natural gas. The hybrid cars they are speaking of are cars that can run on CNG, which is Compressed Natural Gas. CNG is much simpler for them to produce than to build new domestic gasoline refineries. So this mandate is aimed and reducing their political vulnerability to gasoline embargoes by the US by making use of their domestic capability to produce CNG. It has virtually nothing to do with improving the environment. That part of the news story is pure propaganda.

It does happen to be true however, CNG is cleaner burning both in terms of conventional pollutants and in lower carbon dioxide emissions.

Just to be completely clear. These are not gasoline/electric hybrids like a Prius. They are not CNG/electric hybrids either. They will not be using large battery packs. Rather they are sort of like an E85 vehicle. Only in this case they can run on either gasoline or CNG.