Hong Kong may not be Detroit, the heart of the American automobile industry, but in a city without a car manufacturing history, a local firm's ambition to develop environmentally friendly vehicles has been shifting up a gear.
Produced by Hong Kong-based EuAuto Technology, mycar is the city's first electric vehicle (EV) to be sold in global markets.
Partially funded by the government's Innovation and Technology Commission, with the driving system co-developed with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the carbon emission-free mycar is sold in Austria, the Benelux countries, Denmark, France, Italy, Poland, and Britain. It is also used in Hong Kong, mainly by organisations such as CLP and the Airport Authority.
'From day one, EuAuto Technology was set up to produce environmentally friendly vehicles. Our mindset was to target mycar to the high-end markets in Europe and the US where environmental vehicles are more widely accepted,' says Chung Sin-ling, EuAuto Technology chief executive officer and general manager. 'Although it will take time to generate market demand to reach an economy of scale, EVs are no longer a fuzzy concept. They are very much part of the automobile industry.'
Chung says when EuAuto began prototype work on mycar in 2003, the high-capital investment, research and technology broke new ground in Hong Kong. 'At the time, the idea of designing and developing an electrical vehicle in Hong Kong was an alien concept,' says Chung.
She says the willingness of entrepreneurs, shareholders and financial backers to support the project have been key to its success. 'Unlike an investment in property or quick turnaround products, an investment in technology to develop a car requires a long-term view of many years,' says Chung.
During the early days of development, Chung says a further challenge was bringing together a local team of engineers, electrical experts and design specialists.
