A proposal for the production of a semi-heavy intra-urban/inter-urban pickup truck to replace the Zamyad pickup truck
Written by: Kamran Talebi Fard; PhD in Marketing, Market Research, Automotive Industry Consultant
The country’s gasoline consumption has reached an average of more than 100,000,000 liters per day in the past few years. This amount of fuel consumption is much higher compared to other similar countries in terms of demographic/social structure with our country. This volume of fuel consumption, in addition to creating high pollution and environmental impacts, puts pressure on the government’s annual budget and has a significant adverse effect on budget imbalance. Since the government considers a large subsidy for fuel prices, increased gasoline consumption puts pressure on government budget resources. Most experts believe that increasing fuel prices, especially gradually increasing prices, is the appropriate and final solution to reduce the pressure of fuel subsidies on the government budget. But it should be noted that this issue is not just a single-variable equation, and if a decision is made to gradually increase fuel prices, parallel solutions should be presented with a systematic approach. This includes focusing on the production and supply of vehicles with optimal fuel consumption, so-called low-consumption vehicles, or vehicles with alternative engines or fuels, such as hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or all-electric vehicles. According to the latest statistics, gasoline consumption in the country today has reached about 120,000,000 liters per day. This is while about twenty percent of this daily gasoline consumption belongs to only one type of vehicle. The Zamyad van, or the blue van, accounts for twenty percent of the country’s daily gasoline consumption. This may not seem logical because the number of these vehicles is more limited compared to some other types of vehicles, but due to its type of use, almost 100% of the Zamyad pickup trucks in the country are used for more than ten hours a day on average in urban and suburban trips. On the other hand, most users of this vehicle use it as their main means of daily livelihood, which keeps their family’s economic wheel turning. As a result, if the government decides to gradually cut fuel subsidies or gradually increase the price of gasoline, it should simultaneously look for alternative solutions for this segment of society whose daily income and family livelihood directly depend on this type of vehicle.
- Problem Statement:
The Nissan Junior van, or Zamyad van, named after its manufacturing company in Iran, has been in production in the country since 1960. Thus, this car is the oldest car that is still being produced in the country, and the rest of the old cars being produced in the country are more than twenty years younger than this car. But the question is, despite the old cars in the country being phased out, such as the Paykan, Pride, Peugeot 405, etc., why is this car still being produced? In answer, it must be said that the lack of competition, especially in the lower end of the car market and especially the commercial vehicle market, the lack of planning by state-owned automakers, and satisfaction with the status quo and the lack of a suitable replacement in the country’s market, have all caused this obsolete car to remain in the production cycle. Because the rest of the pickup trucks on the market are so-called light pickup trucks that do not have the efficiency and ability to carry the cargo of this pickup truck, or they are in the category of expensive pickup trucks that are practically out of the budget of applicants and users of the Zamyad pickup truck. In the introduction section, it was mentioned that the Zamyad pickup truck or the blue pickup truck alone accounts for twenty percent of the daily gasoline consumption in the country. It was also mentioned about its importance and role in the life and livelihood of the families of its owners or drivers. It is obvious that if the government’s decision to increase the price of fuel is finalized and made a reality, which seems inevitable, arrangements should be made for groups and individuals who use this type of vehicle as a means of daily livelihood. For this reason and due to the importance of the subject, in this brief proposal, we will present suitable solutions for replacing the Zamyad pickup truck. Since the Zamyad pickup truck has the ability to carry heavy loads (up to three tons) in urban and interurban distances at a competitive price when purchased, the alternative option must have similar characteristics but be equipped with up-to-date technology for minimal and optimal fuel consumption and also a high level of safety, because the Zamyad pickup truck, in addition to its very high fuel consumption, does not benefit from the lowest level of active and passive safety, and according to reports and statistics from the traffic police, it is also the main cause of extra-urban accidents in the country. Therefore, in the next section, we will introduce several suitable options for producing and replacing this pickup truck. Options that have the ability to carry cargo of similar volume and weight or even more and also benefit from a competitive price and can be an ideal option to replace this used car in our country.
- Suitable alternatives to the Zamyad van:
In principle, in European countries, roofed vans known as transit vans are responsible for transporting medium-weight cargo. However, due to the high price and also the limitation of the height and weight of the cargo, these types of roofed vans or cargo vans have not been popular in our country’s market. In North American countries, giant pickups are usually responsible for transporting medium-weight cargo outside the city, and roofed vans are responsible for transporting heavy cargo inside the city.
