Some EV owners call for more access to chargers, while a lawmaker says concrete plans needed for enhancing infrastructure
Hong Kong’s commitment to building more electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities has drawn scepticism from some car owners who have called for more access to chargers, while a lawmaker has urged the government to provide detailed plans to enhance infrastructure.
One carbon neutralisation expert even questioned whether promoting electric vehicles to the public in Hong Kong was the right move.
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The government launched the EV-charging at Home Subsidy Scheme in 2020 to facilitate car park owners’ installation of chargers in their own parking spaces, and subsequently extended the programme to the 2027-28 financial year with additional funds.
Lee also said the government would inject HK$300 million (US$38.6 million) into a separate scheme to encourage the private sector to provide fast-charging facilities, and aimed to build 3,000 of such chargers by 2030.
“When we use EVs in Hong Kong, we need to plan cautiously about where we go based on the battery power, as available charging spots are difficult to find,” said Hung, the founding chairman of the Hong Kong New Emerging Technology Education Association.
“But when we are travelling on the mainland, we can always find a space to charge.”
“I cannot use those spots even if I am willing to pay. They are idle, it’s a waste of resources,” he said.
He also called for more incentives to install chargers at car parks in locations such as shopping centres.
“Even slow ones will be fine. We do not need to fully charge our vehicles as Hong Kong is a small place.”
Hong Kong in 2021 rolled out its Roadmap on the Popularisation of Electric Vehicles, which pledged to end the registration for new petrol and hybrid private cars by 2035.
Ringo Lee Yiu-pui, honorary life president of the Hong Kong, China Automobile Association, welcomed the government’s drive to build more chargers, but said more fast-charging ones would be needed given the high demand.
“The government should focus on installing more public quick chargers as 3,000 would not be enough for all EVs, and they should be reasonably distributed across Hong Kong,” he added.
Lawmaker Michael Luk Chung-hung said while the measures reflected the government’s determination to promote EVs, a more detailed plan and a higher standard for quick chargers should be provided.
Luk, who is a member of the Legislative Council’s transport panel, revealed that about 70,000 parking spaces in Hong Kong were now equipped with charging facilities, and the progress aligned with the goal of having 200,000 by mid-2027.
He added that what the government defined as a “quick charger”, referring to those with 20 kilowatts of output or above, was not fast enough for many EV owners.
“The government should have a higher standard of quick chargers. For example, setting the standard at 50kW output,” he said.
Luk said it would take half an hour to charge 90 per cent of an average EV battery with 50kW chargers. But it took 10 hours for an average medium charger, currently the most widely available type in the city.
He also urged the government to do more about regulating the prices of public chargers.
“For private institutions that receive subsidies from the fund, the government should set a cap on their charging fees,” he said. “They should not be allowed to receive government funds with one hand, and exploit car owners with the other.”
Luk added fees at many charging stations were comparable with petrol prices, thus 40 per cent of new car owners still chose vehicles with internal combustion engines.
But Chen Xi, dean of the interdisciplinary studies school at Lingnan University, said Hong Kong should promote EVs among public transport franchisers rather than encouraging private ownership of these vehicles.
“Traffic in Hong Kong has been congested and we should not encourage more people to buy cars,” he said.
“Mainland China has introduced various incentives, such as subsidies and easier vehicle registration, to promote EVs. As a result, there are more traffic jams and many of those stuck on the road are EVs.”
According to Environmental Protection Department figures, Hong Kong had about 100,400 EVs by the end of August, accounting for 10.9 per cent of the total number of vehicles.
The city currently has 8,728 charging places available for public use, 1,511 of which are quick chargers.
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Post time: Nov-01-2024