Twenty-three estates have EV chargers installed since subsidy scheme rolled out in 2020

The government has received over 700 applications under a scheme that subsidizes housing estates to provide chargers to residents who drive an electric car but only 23 estates have completed the installation work as of mid-October. 

The HK$3.5 billion EV-charging at Home Subsidy Scheme first launched three years ago. Among more than 700 applications, about 70 percent were approved but only five percent were completed. 

Five years ago, the number of first-time registered electric vehicles was less than 500, taking up one percent of all registered cars in the city. As of last year, the number skyrocketed to nearly 20,000, overtaking that of diesel cars. 

According to existing procedures, after members of the Owners’ Corporation voted for submitting an application, the electricity company will have to assess the power supply and hire a work consultant and contractors through tender. 

Every stage will require the approval of the Environmental Protection Department and the work is expected to last for 18 to 30 months in total. 

Francis Fong Po-kiu, honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, recalled that the estate he lives in was among the first to apply for the scheme in 2020. 

Fong even joined the estate’s Owners’ Corporation and became the chair to push forward their application. Still, the installation work will finish as late as next June. 

“We are not in the mechanical and electrical engineering industry and we are not familiar with the work details,” Fong said. 

“The scheme has been launched for two to three years. Authorities should have accumulated some experience and be able to see if some steps can be skipped or handled quicker.” 

Transport constituency lawmaker Frankie Yick Chi-ming called on the department to extend the scheme. 

“Charging arrangement is obviously the main concern that keeps drivers from buying electric vehicles. Many are only planning to buy an electric car much later as there are no chargers on their housing estate and currently would have to travel to other districts,” Yick said. 

The department said the scheme now has less than HK$200 million in budget after excluding the reserved subsidy amount. 

The department expects to accept about 10 more applications and said it has no plans to further inject money into the scheme.