Tesla owners to likely pay $160 per plug-in after free scheme ends

The legislature's transport panel chairman has proposed charging electric-vehicle drivers HK$2 per unit of electricity when public car parks stop offering free charging by year-end.

Ben Chan Han-pan said the free charging was meant to promote EVs and the scheme could now end since the green vehicles have already gained popularity.

Auto-pay machines are being set up in public car parks, with Kwai Fong Car Park expected to start charging drivers in the next month or two.

Chan said the government should charge drivers HK$2 per unit of electricity to cover the cost only. This would mean Tesla drivers will have to pay around HK$160 as it requires 68 to 80 units of electricity to fully charge the vehicles.

Hong Kong Automobile Association president Ringo Lee Yiu-pui agreed that the charging fee should be no more than HK$2 per unit.

Lee proposed fast-charging facilities be set up in government parking lots to expedite the turnover of charging facilities.

He, however, asked why the pay-to-charge policy has been accelerated suddenly.

Lee said the government had planned to start charging fees in 2025, adding that abruptly bringing it forward may deter drivers from switching to the green vehicles.

The Legislative Council panel on environmental affairs will discuss the issue on Friday.

In a document submitted to Legco, the Environment and Ecology Bureau said notable progress has been made in promoting the switch to EVs.

The bureau said the percentage of electric cars among all newly registered private cars has increased from 6.3 percent in 2019 to 52.8 percent in 2022, meaning one in every two newly registered private cars is an EV.

At the end of February, around 50,700 electric private cars were on the road, accounting for 7.8 percent of the total private cars.

"Availability of sufficient and convenient EV-charging facilities is one of the major keys to success in further promoting the wider adoption of EVs," the bureau added.

It said a decision has been made to advance the installation of self-service payment kiosks "to expedite the marketization of charging services."

The first phase of work at the Kwai Fong Car Park has begun and tests are expected in the first half of this year.

Meanwhile, EV charging fees in government car parks will progressively start from the second half the earliest, it said.

More private car park operators will also install chargers for electric vehicles, the bureau said.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com