(a) of the anticipated distribution of the aforesaid 1 000 charging stations among government premises and other public or private places, with a breakdown of the number by the item in the table attached;
(b) of the ratio of the number of quick charging facilities to slow charging facilities in the aforesaid charging stations; whether such facilities are compatible with different brands and models of EVs; whether it knows the charging details of such facilities (including the levels of fees charged);
(c) apart from EVs purchased by government departments, of the number of EVs in Hong Kong in the past three years; of the anticipated increase in the number of EVs in the coming year, and whether the number of charging stations will be adequate to cope with such growth;
(d) of the measures it has in place to encourage the installation of charging facilities for EVs at private residential premises or buildings; which government departments EV owners can approach to seek assistance when they encounter difficulties in the course of installing charging facilities, as well as what assistance such departments will offer to them; and
(e) whether it will examine expanding the funding scope of the existing Pilot Green Transport Fund or the Environment and Conservation Fund, so as to subsidize EV owners in the installation and maintenance of charging facilities; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Electric vehicles (EVs) have no pipeline emissions.They can help improve road-side air quality and combat climate change, and at the same time support the development of a green economy.The Government has therefore been actively promoting the wider use of EVs, and working jointly with relevant sectors to put in place a comprehensive EV charging network and other ancillary facilities.
Our replies to different parts of the questions are set out below:
(a) and (b) As of now, there are more than 330 standard EV chargers in Hong Kong, covering all 18 districts, and the number will be increasing.Apart from liaising with and encouraging private car park operators to install EV charging facilities, the Government will also install some 500 standard chargers at various Government car parks.We expect that there would be some 1 000 standard EV chargers for public use by mid 2012, located at various types of buildings.Details are as follows:
Government car parks500
Facilities under the50
management of The Link
Real Estate Investment Trust
or Hong Kong Housing Authority
Shopping centres,430
offices and residential
buildings
Others (such as the20
airport and scientific
research institutes)
Total1000
The standard charging facilities mentioned above support different makes of electric private cars and motorcycles available in the market.As regards other commercial electric vehicles, such as light goods vehicles and light buses, the charging facilities are usually installed by operators with regard to their operational requirements.
In addition, there are now three quick chargers in Hong Kong, and the number will be increased to ten by mid 2012.They will be set up at various locations including the Eastern, Southern, Central and Western, Yau Tsim Mong, Kwun Tong, Sha Tin, North, Yuen Long and Islands Districts.By then, there will be one quick charger within 20 kilometres.The existing quick chargers and those to be installed would adopt the Japanese standard to meet the charging requirement of most electric private cars being used on road.
To promote the use of EVs, the charging facilities available for use by the public are basically offering free services.Providers of these facilities would draw up future fee charging arrangements in the light of market developments.
(c) The Government first announced in the 2009-10 Budget a series of measures to promote the adoption of EVs in Hong Kong.As at end October 2011, there are about 220 EVs in Hong Kong.Around 30 of them are owned by the Government, and the remaining 190 by individuals or private enterprises.By comparison, there were only 16 units of EVs by end 2009 and 74 by end 2010.This reflects that with support of relevant Government policies, the number of EVs has been increasing progressively.We believe that the above-mentioned 1 000 EV chargers in use and to be installed should be able to meet the needs of EV users.We will continue to closely monitor the growth in the number of EVs and install more chargers in a timely manner.
(d) The Government will continue to step up our efforts in promoting the setting up of EV chargers at private residential buildings.In respect of new buildings, through granting concessions on Gross Floor Areas for car parks, we have been encouraging developers to put in place at the building construction stage the basic infrastructure (including power supply and electrical wiring) to facilitate future installation of EV standard charging facilities having regard to the needs of carpark users.
As regards existing buildings, we will continue to actively liaise with the property management companies to encourage owners’ organisations to install EV chargers at the car parks of their residential properties.We have already written to more than 7 400 owners’ committees and owners’ corporations in Hong Kong to appeal for their support for installing EV chargers at premises under their management upon request by EV users.The Environment Bureau and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) have issued a set of guidelines on the technical requirements and arrangements for setting up EV chargers.EMSD has also set up a hotline to provide information and technical support to parties interested in setting up EV chargers.
(e) Currently, the cost of procuring an EV is still higher than its petrol or diesel counterpart.However, the running cost of an EV is much lower.Since most EVs could be charged at a domestic socket, the cost of setting up an EV charger is not expensive.As such, we consider that it is more effective to provide financial incentives for prospective buyers to purchase EVs rather than subsidies for installation of charging facilities.
To this end, we have already extended the waiver of First Registration Tax for EVs for a period of five years till end March 2014.We have also accelerated the tax deduction for capital expenditure on EVs such that enterprises can enjoy a 100% profits tax deduction in the first year of procurement.Furthermore, the Pilot Green Transport Fund provides subsidies to the public transport trade and goods vehicles not only for procurement of EVs but also installation of relevant charging facilities.
