LCQ20: Replacement of old public transport and commercial vehicles
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Question:
The Government promulgated the Green Transformation Roadmap of Public Buses and Taxis in December 2024 to promote the green transformation of public buses and taxis, including subsidising the taxi trade for the purchase of 3 000 electric taxis (e-taxis). However, as at the end of July this year, only about 1 065 taxis had been granted the subsidies and licensed. The Government indicated in May this year its target to introduce 3 000 e-taxis by the end of 2027. In addition, the Government has also drawn up arrangements for phasing out Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of newly registered electric buses (e-buses), e-taxis and electric public light buses in each year from 2023 to 2025 and this year to date; the current respective numbers and proportions of electric vehicles among various types of vehicles;
(2) of the respective numbers of taxis for which the invited taxi owners no longer received subsidy quotas or were not granted subsidies under the e-Taxi Subsidy Scheme because they replied not to participate in the scheme, or failed to reply, place purchase orders or have the e-taxis licensed within the deadline; whether the authorities know the respective major reasons for the aforesaid situations;
(3) of the respective numbers of Euro IV diesel non-franchised buses and light buses which had yet to be phased out as at August 2026;
(4) in order to allow the trade more time and a wider choice of vehicle models, (i) whether the Government will extend by two years the relevant deadlines for placing purchase orders and licensing under the e-Taxi Subsidy Scheme, and whether it will allow taxi owners who lost their subsidy quotas or were not granted subsidies due to late replies, late placement of orders or late licensing to re-participate in the scheme; (ii) whether the Government will extend by two years the relevant deadlines for franchised bus operators to place purchase orders for, complete delivery of, and register e-buses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) whether the Government will extend by two years the current application deadlines for the ex-gratia payment for Euro IV diesel non-franchised buses and light buses, so as to allow the trade more time to identify and procure suitable replacement models; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In order to achieve zero vehicular emissions before 2050, in line with Hong Kong's commitment to strive for carbon neutrality in the same timeframe, the Government has been actively promoting the popularisation of electric vehicles (EVs). Measures to promote the green transformation of public buses and taxis were set out in the Government's Green Transformation Roadmap of Public Buses and Taxis announced in 2024. The Updated Version of the Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles announced in February this year set out a number of schemes and initiatives to continue promoting the development of EVs. The technology for electric commercial vehicles (e-CVs) (such as medium and heavy goods vehicles and non-franchised buses) is still evolving. These e-CV types in the local market are not yet ready for large scale application at this stage due to various reasons, such as purchase costs that are significantly higher than those of diesel vehicles, limited driving range, lower load-carrying capacity, and longer charging time, etc. The Government is pragmatically promoting and has established a working group to first explore the introduction of applicable models for public light buses (PLB).
Having consulted the Transport Department, my response to the question raised by Dr Hon Chan is as follows:
(1) The number of first registered electric buses (e-buses), electric taxis (e-taxis) and electric public light buses (e-PLBs) over the past three years or so, as well as the current number and proportion of EVs within each vehicle type, are as follows.
Number of first registered EVs
| Vehicle Type | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (as at end-August) |
| E-bus | 39 | 33 | 43 | 57 |
| E-taxi | 17 | 140 | 899 | 634 |
| E-PLB | 1 | 3 | 11 | 9 |
Number of EVs
| Vehicle Type | (As at end-August 2026) | |
| No. of EVs | Total no. of registered vehicles (proportion of EVs) |
|
| Private car | 178 574 | 650 227 (27.5%) |
| Motorcycle/motor tricycle | 1 187 | 111 461 (1.1%) |
| Taxi | 1 613 | 18 163 (8.9%) |
| Bus | 217 | 14 001 (1.5%) |
| Light bus | 40 | 7 712 (0.5%) |
| Goods vehicle | 1 868 | 113 390 (1.6%) |
| Special purpose vehicle | 121 | 2 198 (5.5%) |
| Total | 183 620 | 917 152 (20.0%) |
(2) and (4) The Government launched the e-taxi subsidy scheme in December 2024, aiming to subsidise the taxi trade to purchase 3 000 e-taxis to replace their old taxis. The subsidy level for each e-taxi is $45,000. From the launch of the subsidy scheme to August 2026, the Government has issued a total of five rounds of invitation letters to eligible owners of the oldest batches of taxis at that time, covering 8 448 taxis with their first registration dates on or before October 20, 2016. As at end-August 2026, the owners of 3 578 taxis have accepted the subsidy quotas. Among them, 1 152 e-taxis have been licensed and are eligible to receive subsidy. Besides, the owners of 3 527 taxis replied not to participate in the scheme or did not reply in the first four rounds of invitations, whilst the owners of 1 343 taxis in the latest round of invitation have not yet replied whether they will accept the subsidy quota before the impending deadline in early October.
The subsidy scheme requires taxi owners who have accepted subsidy quotas to procure e-taxis within six months from the issuance date of the invitation letters by the Government, as well as to license the e-taxis within 12 months from the date in the e-taxi procurement documents. If, due to special circumstances, a taxi owner is unable to fulfill the aforementioned requirements within the specified deadlines, they may submit a written application to the Government requesting an extension of the relevant period. We will exercise flexibility depending on individual circumstances. We anticipate that some taxi owners who have accepted the quota may ultimately decide not to use it for various reasons; therefore, we will continuously monitor the status of applications and license completions, and adjust the opening of applications as appropriate to make good use of the quotas.
According to information gathered from the taxi trade, the reason why some invited taxi owners decided not to join the subsidy scheme, or failed to respond, purchase new e-taxis, or license the e-taxis within the deadlines, was partly the changes in the economic environment in recent years, causing taxi owners to adopt a more prudent approach when investing in the replacement of their taxis, and was unrelated to the procurement or licensing deadlines, or the choice of vehicle models.
Regarding the provision of charging facilities, we have maintained close communication with the taxi trade and charge point operators (CPOs). Currently, those interested in switching to e-taxis are predominately taxi fleets, which have already partnered with CPOs in the market to arrange dedicated charging services for their e-taxis. E-taxis can also charge at the public charging network that the Government is promoting, with fast chargers as the backbone, including fast chargers under the $300 million Fast Charger Incentive Scheme, fast charging stations converted from petrol filling stations, fast chargers retrofitted at existing petrol filling stations, bus depot charging facilities opened up by franchised bus operators (FBOs), and dedicated fast chargers for e-taxis, etc. In addition to traditional modes of charging, CPOs in the market also offer diverse charging solutions such as "Megawatt Flash Charge", mobile charging robots, battery swapping or battery energy storage systems, etc. These solutions are particularly helpful for the rapid energy replenishment of e-taxis. We are actively promoting the adoption of these diverse charging solutions in Hong Kong, and are providing policy support and co-ordination for CPOs wishing to establish a presence here.
The Government has also launched a scheme to subsidise FBOs in purchasing e-buses, so as to promote the green transformation of franchised buses. All FBOs confirmed their participation in the scheme in August 2025 and commenced preparations for the tendering exercises to procure about 600 e-buses by end-2027 and complete vehicle delivery and registration by end-2029. The first batch of e-buses is expected to be registered in 2027 and gradually be put into service. The implementation details and relevant deadlines of the scheme have been confirmed by all FBOs, and there is currently no intention to change.
(3) and (5) To continuously improve roadside air quality, the Government launched the "Ex-gratia Payment Scheme for Phasing Out Euro IV Diesel Commercial Vehicles" (the Scheme) in October 2020, aiming to phase out approximately 40 000 Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles (DCVs) in phases by the end of 2027. According to the Transport Department records, as at end-August 2026, the numbers of Euro IV non-franchised buses and light buses yet to be phased out were 310 and 82 respectively.
The Scheme does not require participating vehicle owners to purchase a new vehicle after retiring their old vehicles. Upon its launch, the application deadlines for the ex-gratia payment were clearly stipulated based on the vehicle's first registration date, allowing owners ample time to make corresponding arrangements. To date, the Scheme has successfully phased out over 33 700 eligible vehicles, accounting for nearly 85 per cent of the total, and overall implementation is progressing well. Based on the above considerations, and given that phasing out Euro IV DCVs on schedule helps improve roadside air quality (Note 2), in order to safeguard public health and implement the binding indicator under the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026–2030) for the average concentration of PM2.5 in the ambient air to be below 14 µg/m³ by 2030, the Government has no plan to extend the application deadlines for the remaining vehicles.
Note 2: Compared with Euro IV models, the nitrogen oxides and respirable suspended particulates emissions of Euro VI diesel heavy vehicles are reduced by approximately 89% and 50% respectively; while the nitrogen oxides and respirable suspended particulates emissions of Euro VI diesel light vehicles can also be reduced by approximately 68% and 82% respectively.
Ends/Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:42
Issued at HKT 11:42
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