Government's electric-cab plan fails to spark more suppliers' interest
Three of the city's four suppliers of electric cars say they are not keen on a government scheme to convert their green vehicles into taxis
A government initiative to encourage more electric taxis onto the roads has failed to spark electric car suppliers' interest.
At present, only four models of electric private cars are available in Hong Kong - the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Nissan Leaf, Renault Fluence ZE and BYD e6. The BYD cars are already being used as taxis, with 45 on the roads.
The department hopes the new charging spaces will encourage suppliers to convert cars for use as taxis. It plans to issue an open invitation to all electric taxi suppliers worldwide to submit models for approval before June.
Priority will be given to existing suppliers of Hong Kong electric taxis, which for the moment is BYD. Other suppliers whose electric taxis have been approved by the Transport Department but are not yet in operation, or who provide electric taxis outside Hong Kong, were also eligible, a spokeswoman said.
Except BYD, the other three electric-car models in Hong Kong said they were not interested in the government's initiative, arguing their vehicles were not suitable for taxi use.