Charged Hong Kong Members' Stories #000 -- Mr. Johnny Siu

As Charged Hong Kong's Tesla owner group representative, I want to dedicate Charged Hong Kong's 1-year-old birthday to all our members who have contributed to the EV communities and the EV growth in Hong Kong in various ways. Charged Hong Kong Members' Stories is a series which aims to introduce our members and share their valuable experience with the world!

To kick off the series, I am glad to have Mr. Johnny Siu to be #000. He is #000 because he has recently joined the Charged Hong Kong committee and he deserves a number before number 1.

Here's our interview below:

Locky Law(LL): Johnny, thanks for accepting my interview. Some standard questions first: Could you please tell us something about yourself?

Johnny Siu(JS): I am Chartered Surveyor working in the civil services and will retire within a few years.  My entire family (4 members) joined the test drive of Tesla Model S and were all impressed by its performance.  Hence, place my order for 70D in April 2015.

LL: Tell us about your role at Charged Hong Kong.

JS: I am a founder member of Charged HK and also the coordinator of Public Charging Group.

LL: Thanks to you, Charged Hong Kong now has a lot more contact with the Government. Has it been difficult to arrange meetings with government departments, LegCo members and public utility companies?

JS: I have not encountered any difficulties in meeting these parties.  My experience with them, so far, is positive.  Although there have not been any significant improvements in public charging, I believe we are moving in the right direction.

LL: Do you have anyone in mind that Charged Hong Kong will meet in the next 6 months?

JS: I do really want to meet the property managers who are currently dealing with the Incorporated Owners.  EV owners are often facing difficulties in the installation of home charging facilities at their own parking spaces.

LL: Okay, this is a tricky question: what’s the odds of a FRT waiver extension?

JS: Similar to most of the countries in the world, FRT wavier / tax rebates are necessary to promote EV.  However, with the coming of low cost EV, FRT wavier may imply an overall increase in car population unless ICE are replaced by those low cost EV.

LL: Okay, let’s talk about you and your Tesla Model S again. How often to you drive it these days?

JS: I drive my Tesla daily and my mileage is only about 60Km per day.  I am the driver of my boss –wife.  Sometimes, my sons will drive my 70D as well (under my supervision).

LL: And I remember you have had your car coated, do you mind sharing your experience with that particular coating? You can name it if you want.

JS: I did the coating at Crystal Plating Kobo Limited.  It costed me $5,500 and is very nice.  This is the budget which I can afford.

LL: Where do you normally charge your car? How often? Any troubles with charging?

JS: I charged my Tesla daily at nearby Tin Hau Government multi-storey car park.  A 13A outlet will be good for me for overnight charging.  At this moment, I do not have any trouble in getting a 13A charging lot

LL: Is there anything else you would like to tell our members and future EV owners?

JS: EV is good in every aspects and also more environmental friendly.  However, before you make your purchase decision, do think about your driving habit and where will be the possible charging facilities for your EV.

LL: Thank you very much my friend! And congratulations for joining the Charged Hong Kong committee. We’ll see you at Charged Hong Kong meetings very soon!

JS: You are the most welcome.  Hopefully, I can contribute to the Public Charging Group.