The Iranian government has eliminated the import tariffs on electric and hybrid cars with engines of 2500cc and smaller, according to a report by the Tehrantimes.com.

This is the first time Iran has dropped import tariffs on a class of electric and hybrid cars, the Mehr News Agency quoted Iranian Deputy Industry, Mines, and Trade Minister Valiollah Afkhami Rad.

In February, Iranian MP Ali Alilou of the Majlis Industries and Mines Committee said Iran was planning to cut all car import tariffs to zero in two year’s time, according to the report.

The Iranian automobile industry, the biggest non-oil sector of the economy, constituting around 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), boomed over the decade ending in 2011. However, experts pointed that the administration of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which increased car import duties as much as 90 percent in 2013, led to a marked deterioration of quality in the Iranian market. The market is dominated by the triopoly of the three major local car manufacturers: Iran Khodro, Pars Khodro, and Saipa, according to the Tehrantimes.com report.