Hong Kong-developed electric car is poised to hit city roads
The electric-powered MyCar is to hit Hong Kong roads soon, and the public can get a preview at an exhibition from Saturday to Monday.
MyCar is an electric vehicle jointly developed by Hong Kong-based EuAuto Technology and Polytechnic University (PolyU), in a project that got underway in 2003. The car was launched in 2007.
While MyCar has been on sale in Europe, in Hong Kong it had to wait until the Transport Department confirmed its roadworthiness, which happened in August. Sales officially start on Friday.
Transport Department certification comes with restrictions on where MyCar can be driven. Although it has a maximum speed of 64km/h, it can only be used on roads with a speed limit of 50km/h or under, which means it cannot be driven on highways.
Professor Eric Cheng Ka-wai of PolyU, who has been working on the development of MyCar, said the highway restriction was not a serious limitation, as the car was designed to be used in urban areas.
Chung Sin-ling, chief executive officer of EuAuto Technology, said the corporate sector was the company's initial target customer in Hong Kong. 'One of our clients is the Airport Authority, which is purchasing MyCars to replace the petrol vehicles in the airport area now,' Chung said.
Following the launch of MyCar in Hong Kong, a three-day exhibition will be held at Hollywood Plaza in Diamond Hill to introduce this eco-friendly car to the public.
MyCar is a two-seater, powered with a lithium battery. It takes eight to 10 hours to charge the battery. No specific device is needed to charge the car; just a regular power socket of the kind used for any electrical appliance. Once charged, the vehicle can travel up to 112 kilometres on a flat road. The life expectancy of the battery is slightly more than three years.
The most significant feature of MyCar is 'zero-emissions'. It emits no greenhouse gases when it is running, and it is around 80 to 90 per cent cheaper to drive than a petrol-fuelled car.
According to Chung, a petrol-fuelled car costs around HK$1.10 per kilometre while MyCar costs just 15 HK cents.
Chung added that EuAuto was working on an upgraded version of MyCar, which would be faster, pushing the maximum speed to 80km/h. He said the company is also working on a four-seater version of the vehicle and also an electric van.
'I'm confident that MyCar will have a good share of the Hong Kong market,' Chung said.
