Fifty mainland-registered vehicles a day will be allowed into Hong Kong for up to seven days when the next phase of the cross-border driving scheme begins, say people familiar with plans being made by the Hong Kong and Guangdong governments.
But mainland drivers applying for local licences would need to meet strict requirements, such as having a good driving record and attending courses on the city's traffic regulations, they said.
The first phase of the plan - which will also allow 50 Hong Kong-registered private vehicles to travel daily to Guangdong - is due to begin next month.
Critics worry that the second phase will lead to hundreds of mainland vehicles clogging the city's roads and adding to the pollution, and such fears have led to a war of words on the internet.
However, only a maximum of 350 mainland vehicles will be in the city daily under the '50 mainland cars a day for seven days' scheme, say people with knowledge of the plan.
That is in addition to the existing system of cross-border permits extended to 2,000 mainland vehicles. As such, the total population of mainland vehicles in the city is unlikely to cause an undue burden, according to the insiders.