MAPNA Group was one of the parties to an agreement that seeks to provide and expand the infrastructure for electric motorcycles in the Iranian capital of Tehran.
On Sunday, May 14, 2023, a meeting was held at MAPNA Electric & Control Engineering & Manufacturing Company (MECO) where a joint cooperation agreement was signed by Tehran Municipality, MECO, and Bahman Group. The goal of the agreement is to develop electric motorcycles, build charging stations for electric vehicles and offer battery swap services for electric motorcycles.
According to the agreement, all three parties agreed to take on important responsibilities to set up the charging infrastructure for electric motorcycles with battery swap capability and supply at least 50 thousand electric motorcycles.
MECO agreed to develop battery packs for electric motorcycles, manufacture and install charging stations and energy supply infrastructures and related services.
Bahman Group agreed to develop and supply electric motorcycles and participate in building the infrastructure. Meanwhile, Tehran Municipality agreed to provide the necessary facilities and spaces for erecting the needed stations for charging and swapping.
The sides agreed to a long-term strategic partnership and cooperation in building charging stations and providing systems for battery swap for electric motorcycles, participating in designing an electric motorcycle system that matches the charging infrastructure developed by MECO, participating in providing connected software services and cooperating in providing electronic wallets and incentive mechanisms for customers.
At the meeting, Jalal Bahrami, the deputy transportation of Tehran Municipality stressed the importance that the municipality attaches to public electric transportation. He said developing and producing electric motorcycles, creating infrastructure and charging stations and battery swap systems for electric motorcycles are a high priority for expanding electric transportation. He said Tehran Municipality welcomes any agreement in this direction.
For his part, Mohammad Hossein Refan, MECO’s CEO, expressed hope that the cooperation of MAPNA Group, Bahman Group and Tehran Municipality, based on their constructive experiences, can become the foundation for good events in the field of public electric transportation in the country.
Furthermore, Buick Alimoradloo, Bahman Group CEO talked about the history of Irandocharkh (a subsidiary of Bahman Group) and their activities in the field of electric motorcycles. He praised MAPNA Group’s achievements in developing the charging infrastructure of electric vehicles, especially the electric motorcycle battery swap platform. He called this cooperation promising and an important step towards reducing air pollution in big cities and fulfilling their joint social responsibility.
This agreement comes amid efforts to reduce air pollution in the country’s big cities, especially Tehran, and the need to expand electric motorcycle transportation in the country.
In May 2019, MAPNA opened Iran’s first electric vehicle charging station at the Milad Tower in Tehran. It was a bold move that signaled its commitment to clean and sustainable transportation. It also partnered with SAIPA in February 2019 and IKCO in August 2020 to develop and sell electric vehicles in the market.
MAPNA has also been busy testing 20 electric vehicle prototypes, showing off its skills in making electric subsystems for passenger and public vehicles.