Hong Kong can become the launch-pad for Chinese EVs and benefit from global boom: academic
- Hong Kong leads mainland China in scientific research and has a mature financial ecosystem, says Hong Kong’s first academician at the CAE
- China is a global leader in producing EVs, Chan says, but lags on technology, and Hong Kong can close the gap as home to five of the world’s most known universities
Hong Kong can deepen its electric vehicle (EV) testing and certification expertise by leveraging its status as an international city to help launch more Chinese-made EVs to the world, said Chan Ching-chuen, Hong Kong’s first academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).
“Hong Kong’s biggest advantage is its internationality – Hong Kong’s standards are international standards,” Chan, who is also director of the research centre for EVs and chair professor for EVs and smart energy at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, told the Post. “So if an electric vehicle can be used in Hong Kong, it means it can be used in other parts of the world.”
Although the city does not have a local automotive industry, it can still find opportunities in the booming EV sector by acting as a bridge between China and the rest of the world and promoting the low-carbon transition in the transport sector, he said.
China, the world’s biggest automotive market, has taken a significant leap in the net-zero transition towards clean energy vehicles, by selling around 7.7 million pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids in 2023, a 36 per cent year-on-year growth. According to a forecast by Rystad Energy, about 11.5 million new EVs will be sold in China this year, a 44 per cent share of all new car sales versus 34 per cent in 2023.
