Hong Kong to add more compatible chargers for Chinese EVs as mainland cars arrive
‘It is an absolute joy to drive straight from Zhuhai to Hong Kong with just one pump of the accelerator,’ says driver among southbound scheme’s first batch
More chargers compatible with mainland Chinese electric vehicles will be made available in Hong Kong as demand grows, the transport chief has said, after the first batch of drivers from Guangdong province entering the city’s urban areas under a new scheme nearly exhausted the daily quota for cars.
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said on Tuesday that nearly 100 mainland cars entered Hong Kong on the first day of the “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles (Entry into Urban Area)” scheme.
She added that the government would monitor whether more cars would arrive when mainlanders had a three-day holiday over the New Year.
“Over the past few months, we have worked closely with shopping centres, hotels and even the Transport Department’s car park to speed up the installation of charging facilities,” Chan said.
She added that Hong Kong currently had about 900 charging stations, 40 of which used the GB/T standard compatible with mainland vehicles, while the rest used the CCS2 or Type 2 standards commonly adopted in Europe.
Asked if the existing facilities could meet demand, she said she believed the industry would expand them to include different types of vehicles as the need grew, adding that some drivers might already have their own adaptors.
Chan noted that adaptors could be used at charging facilities to provide sufficient power for vehicles.