Nissan is hoping once again to become a major supplier of Hong Kong taxis: it aims to compete with mainland carmaker BYD to turn the city's 18,150 liquefied petroleum taxis into electrically-powered cars - a market worth HK$7.26 billion.
BYD began talks on taxi conversions with the government last year but is reported to be struggling to get the first 45 electric taxis to Hong Kong for trial by August, as promised by chairman Wang Chuanfu.
Considering only about 2,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrid cars were sold on the mainland during the first quarter, the conversion of 18,130 electric vehicles is, by any standards, a huge opportunity for any player in the sector. .
This is why Nissan chief executive Carlo Ghosn arranged to meet Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen last week while he was in town for the relocation, from Japan, of the global headquarters of the car maker's luxury division, Infiniti.
When the government decided to replace all diesel taxis with the cleaner LPG cars gas back in 2001, it took only three years for the conversion of 99 per cent of the city's 18,150 taxis. Nissan, once the dominant supplier in the city, was squeezed out of the market when Toyota offered cheaper repair costs.
Now BYD is committed to paying a total of HK$13.5 million to cover the construction costs of 45 quick-charging points in 15 public car parks across the city, and another HK$9 million in provisional subsidies to help taxi operators buy 45 of its e6 electric vehicle models .