Charged Hong Kong

林鄭月娥剛發表了上任後首份施政報告，環保政策的亮點不多，電動車政策更是完全欠奉。但申訴專員公署已經看不過眼，上月宣布展開主動調查，審研政府對電動私家車的配套規劃及安排是否妥當，可見情況確實嚴峻。

特區政府早於2011年便為電動車普及化和相關充電設施訂下兩大目標：(一) 2020年有30%私家車屬電動車輛或混合動力車輛；(二) 新落成建築物有30%的私家車泊車位，可以提供相關充電設施。距離2020年不足3年，政府兩大目標的「走數」機會越來越高。

先談電動車普及化，今年2月公布的《財政預算案》，政府突然將電動私家車的稅務寬免額削減至97,500元為上限。在新安排之下，大部分電動車款的售價大幅調升，令潛在買家的購買意欲大減。根據運輸署數字，目前電動車佔整體登記車輛不足2%，與政府定下的目標相距極遠。

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In a recent RTHK interview, concerning her first policy address, our chief executive Carrie Lam made the following positive comments regarding EVs in Hong Kong:

"Electric vehicles is something that we will have to look at seriously, especially after this year's budget initiative to withdraw some of the concessions. A lot of people have lobbied me that this seems a bit contradictory to your push for more EVs in Hong Kong. (interviewer: so you have some sympathy for those complaints). I have some sympathy because in many countries they are not taking a gradual approach to move to EVs, they are taking what I regard as a bold approach, announcing that by a certain year there will be no more diesel or petrol vehicles on the roads. Whether we could go that far, I don't know, but certainly it is something that we need to tackle. (interviewer: the Ombudsman has just launched an investigation, is this an area you need to look at again?). Oh, definitely. Definitely. Definitely."

As the situation with the air quality of Hong Kong continues to deteriorate, and Hong Kong continues to lose out to competing countries such as Singapore in surveys and opinion polls on this subject, we urge the Hong Kong SAR Government to increase efforts in this respect. According to the Hedley Index, in 2016 there were 1,686 premature deaths, 113,000 hospital bed days and 2.6 million doctor visits caused by air pollution. Total economic loss was HK$21 billion.

We have the following suggestions for the 2018-2019 budget and policy address:

1] First Registration Tax Concessions

Purchasers of Electric Vehicles (“EVs”) in Hong Kong used to enjoy a 100% exemption for First Registration Tax of new vehicles. In the 2017/2018 budget, the Financial Secretary announced a cap on this exemption for private cars at HK$97,500 - effectively making only the first HK$200,000 of an electric private car purchase, tax free. Since the cap came into effect, new sales of EVs have dropped to near zero, and show no signs of recovery. Prior to this policy change, recent years had seen a dramatic increase in the number of Electric Vehicles on our roads; purchasers have simply switched back to polluting petrol/diesel vehicles.

CLP Power Hong Kong Limited (CLP Power) has recently added 15 new electric vehicles (EVs) to its company fleet, enhancing its efforts in the movement for a greener, smarter Hong Kong. The new vehicles are the first of their kind in a Hong Kong corporate fleet and are capable of travelling as far as 400 km when fully charged. CLP Power has also opened a new multi-standard EV quick charger at the Ocean Terminal car park in Tsim Sha Tsui to cater to the public’s growing demand for green motoring.

The new e-saloons will be used in daily operations and will replace retiring vehicles in the CLP Power fleet. Running solely on electric power, the silent, zero-emission EVs will contribute to better air quality in Hong Kong. The extended driving range of the new EVs will save more in fuel costs.

CLP Power first introduced EVs to its company fleet in 1984 and now has more than 100 EVs, ranging from private saloons and minibuses to light and medium goods vehicles and coaches.

Another important element of CLP Power’s support for green motoring is its network of 48 EV charging stations with 149 charging points in Kowloon, the New Territories, and Lantau. The company has extended its free charging service for EV drivers until the end of 2017.

The latest multi-standard EV quick charger at Ocean Terminal car park, which opened for public use in September 2017, is the first of its kind installed by CLP Power in a shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui.

"On Wednesday's Backchat, are petrol driven cars on the way out? Governments and manufacturers around the world are moving fast towards a future with only electric or hybrid vehicles. Many states in America simply want to ban the sale of petrol eventually. In Norway already a quarter of cars are powered by electricity generated from hydropower. Is the internal combustion engine really doomed? What will a future of electric cars look like? Where will the energy come from, and the raw materials? How will they charge, and how is Hong Kong faring?"

Charged Hong Kong's chairman, Mark Webb-Johnson, joined the panel to help drive this important discussion.

Listen here:
http://podcast.rthk.hk/podcast/item_epi.php?pid=177&lang=en-US&id=99491

There is a long tradition of Cars and Coffee, and we thought it a good idea to combine that with the Hong Kong tradition of a Sunday morning drive. An opportunity to get together over breakfast / coffee and talk about electric vehicles and what can do for the environment and air quality here. We hold these events on a monthly basis.

The next event will be Saturday 2nd September 2017 at Starbucks (Shop S001), Science Park. We'll be there between 10am and 11:30am - feel free to come early/late, whichever is more convenient.There is plenty of parking at Science Park, Superchargers, and they have an EV parking concession:

https://www.hkstp.org/hkstp_web/Files/Facility/Science%20Park/Transporta...

This is very informal. Come if you can. But, we would appreciate you letting us know if you can come via eMail to events@charged.hk.

As there are so many people away on their summer holidays, we have decided to skip this month's cars and coffee meet-up. We'll resume the monthly meet-ups in September.

Charged.HK would like to congratulate Mr YU Kam-kee, Lawrence, BBS, JP, for his award of the Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) in this year's honours list. Quite simply, without Mr Yu's involvement, the Formula E ePrix would not be taking place here in Hong Kong. This award is well deserved, and recognises all that Mr Yu has done for the promotion of electric vehicles in Hong Kong.

The citation reads "Mr Yu is awarded the SBS for his long and distinguished community service, particularly in the development of sports, promotion of tourism, enhancement of road safety and promotion of organ donation in Hong Kong. Mr YU has also made significant contributions to the automobile and motorsport community, particularly his instrumental role in launching Hong Kong’s first Formula E car racing competition, the Hong Kong ePrix in 2016."

There is a long tradition of Cars and Coffee, and we thought it a good idea to combine that with the Hong Kong tradition of a Sunday morning drive. An opportunity to get together over breakfast / coffee and talk about electric vehicles and what we can do for the environment and air quality here.

We intend to have these events on a monthly basis - the first Saturday or Sunday of each month.

The next event will be Sunday 2nd July 2017 at Festival Walk Starbucks, in Kowloon. The coffee shop is at UG-20A, in the Festival Walk shopping centre. We'll be there between 10am and 11:30am - feel free to come early/late, whichever is more convenient.There is plenty of parking at Festival Walk, including Superchargers for Tesla vehicles.

Prior to the event, conditional on the weather being fine, some of us are going to take our cars up Fei Ngo Sha (to the Kowloon Peak Viewing Point, and then Fei Ngoh Shan lookout, and then loop down to Festival Walk). Those are some of the most beautiful viewing points in Hong Kong, looking down from on high over Kowloon. That drive will start at 9am sharp, from Anderson Road (near the junction to On Sau Road). If you are interested in joining that drive, please contact events@charged.hk for details.

This is very informal. Come if you can. If you have any questions, eMail events@charged.hk.

Initiated by Hon Charles Mok, Legislative Councillor (Information Technology).

Over the past few years we've seen Hong Kong's outdated laws and policies hampering the adoption of EVs in Hong Kong. We've slipped in the global innovation ranking.

We are asking for your support to Hon Charles Mok's motion coming up in the Legislative Council to urge the government to reform outdated legislation and promote the development of innovation and technology.

The motion will urge the government to coordinate various policy bureaux in reviewing outdated legislation. To better cope with the technological development, the public expectations and with suitable approaches, we urge the government to conduct extensive consultation, update obsolete legislation, introduce policies conducive to innovation and formulate innovative regulatory frameworks that will strike a balance with various stakeholders.

We also urge the government to listen to the views of the public and adopt a proper attitude in promoting innovation. Appropriate legislation has to be enacted to foster the growth of digital economy, smart city, and to facilitate the development and application of innovation and technology. All these approaches will offer more choices for the people and make Hong Kong more competitive, therefore allowing us to seize the opportunities and keep up with our global counterparts.