Electric-powered minibus too heavy to win official approval

An electric-powered minibus has failed to gain approval because it weighs too much.

A company which submitted a proposal to the Government in July outlining a plan to import the vehicles has been told it cannot go ahead.

The Transport Department will not register the seven-tonne vehicles because the limit for public light buses is four tonnes.

'If we are to use that vehicle, the requirement has to be amended,' said a spokeswoman for the company, Vicmax Ltd.

The minibus has 24 seats, whereas those in Hong Kong have 16. Most of the excess weight is due to the huge battery needed to power the vehicle.

The company wants the Transport Department to relax the regulations.