Minister drives home green message in Tokyo
Hong Kong signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday with Japanese car maker Nissan on introducing electric vehicles in the city.
The Environment Bureau said the co-operation agreement would lay the foundation for Hong Kong to become a testing ground for an electric car being developed by Nissan.
The memorandum was signed in Tokyo where Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah visited Nissan, as well as rivals Mitsubishi and Toyota to discuss the development of electric and environment-friendly cars.
Under the memorandum, a working group will be set up with Nissan and government representatives to 'identify the potential areas of co-operation on expanding the use of electric vehicles in Hong Kong'.
The pacts are part of the city's clean-air initiatives in the budget.
'We are glad to have Nissan as our partner. The signing of the memorandum signifies closer collaboration between the two parties,' Mr Yau said.
Nissan is expected to mass-produce electric vehicles for global sales in 2012. The Renault-Nissan Alliance, which Nissan formed with the French carmaker in 1999, has been introducing what it called zero-emission vehicle initiatives in various places, including the mainland, Japan, Israel, Monaco and California.
Nissan owns 15 per cent of Renault which in turns owns 44 per cent of Nissan.
In a statement yesterday, Nissan senior vice-president Andy Palmer said technology for 'zero emissions mobility' was a reality and 'we are fully prepared and committed to bringing this technology to the world in the very near future'.
It was the second agreement on electric vehicles that Hong Kong had entered into in two months. Earlier, Mitsubishi Motors promised to bring its newest electric car iMiev to Hong Kong for road tests. The car is expected to arrive next month.
After a meeting with Mitsubishi Motors president Osamu Masuko, Mr Yau said the company had reaffirmed it would allocate part of its first-year production of the car for sale in Hong Kong. 'Securing the provision of iMiev in the immediate future is crucial for Hong Kong's next phase of larger scale testing, as the cars will not only be used and tested by the government, but also by business enterprises in Hong Kong. This would also help expose a wider section of the community to the electric vehicle driving experience,' he said.
It was uncertain yet how many would be allocated to Hong Kong and at what price. Japan is expected to launch the sale of the car in July.
Mr Yau also took a ride in the four-seater iMiev, which was powered by a lithium-ion battery. 'It was quiet inside the car. The speed is better than anticipated when the car is changing lanes or accelerating,' the minister said.
After winding up his trip in Tokyo, Mr Yau will visit Sanin Kaigan National Park on Honshu Island to learn about Japan's experience in developing such parks. He will then fly to Canada and the United States to visit electric vehicle developer, the Zenn Motor Company, which is based in Toronto, and learn about green building initiatives.