BYD announced the launch of Hong Kong’s first all-electric taxi fleet, BYD e6 electric cross-over sedan at a launch ceremony held at the Hong Kong Science Park. BYD closely collaborated with Sime Darby Motors Group (Sime Darby), Hong Kong Taxi & Public Light Bus Association Limited, The Link Management Limited, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited and The Hong Kong Electric Company Limited to place into service the first batch of 45, BYD e6 Taxis. BYD also announced that the e6 “Taxi version” and e6 “Premier” sedan were now officially on sale in Hong Kong. Mr. John Tsang Chun-wah, the GBM, JP, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regional Government welcomed BYD to Hong Kong and reaffirmed his commitment to “promoting environmental sustainability by laying the foundation for Hong Kong to become a zero emissions city.”
Mr. Wang Chuan-fu, Chairman and President of BYD Company Limited affirmed, “As a leading innovator in the green-energy market sector, BYD uses best-of-breed EV technologies for our e6 Taxis and e6 Premier sedans launching in Hong Kong. This not only asserts our green vision for promoting environmental sustainability for a better world, but is also a significant step for us in bringing green transport to benefit all people -- we greatly appreciate the presence of the Honorable Mr. Tsang at the ceremony today, as the support of the Government is of critical importance to the promotion and implementation of EVs in any country or region.” “The support of the taxi industry is essential to the mass-adoption of EVs,” remarked Mr. Wong Chung Keung, President and Chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi & Public Light Bus Association. “We fully support BYD and Sime Darby’s introduction of pure electric taxis in Hong Kong. Our association will embrace this trial project with enthusiasm. We believe our upcoming co-operation with BYD for the promotion of electric taxis in Hong Kong will successfully upgrade the taxi industry and our efforts will not go in vain. We aim for a more pollution-free environment and our target is full replacement of our present vehicles with electric ones in the near future.” Sime Darby offers Hong Kong drivers an eco-friendly transport supporting the development of a sustainable Hong Kong. Mr. Peter Goh, Managing Director of Sime Darby Motors Group said, “We are delighted to work with BYD in bringing the e6 Taxis and Premier sedans to Hong Kong, offering even more unique, eco-friendly driving and transport experiences.
Today’s launch is another testament to our commitment to providing top quality and high price-performance-ratio vehicles to our customers.” The BYD e6 is a spacious, 5-passenger, crossover vehicle (EV) powered by the BYD Iron-Phosphate (or Fe) batteries -- it has a very long battery life with the highest safety level in the industry. It takes only two hours to fully charge the e6 using AC charging equipment developed by BYD. This pure EV can then travel for an unprecedented range up to 300 km, providing both the driver and passengers with an incomparable driving experience and zero emissions/ zero pollution.
The availability of charging facilities is also critical to EV customers -- in conjunction with the introduction of Hong Kong’s first pure electric taxi fleet and the e6 Premier sedans, BYD is setting up 47 chargers in 9 charging locations near car parks throughout Hong Kong as the first phase of deployment. To address the anticipated growth of EV adoption, BYD plans to increase the number of charging facilities as adoption rolls out. These charging stations are now dispersed across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories and Lantau Island. The selection of these locations was optimized with the taxi-driver, shift-change locations, while taking into consideration the distance between each station and forming a reasonable coverage network for convenience. In addition, it is only anticipated that a one-hour recharge would only be needed per shift (during a rest or lunch break). Pure electric vehicles are becoming a major trend in the world, especially in densely populated cities like Hong Kong, where many vehicles are driven in a compact area day and night -- it is a pressing imperative that this public transportation becomes cleaner. The launch of the e6 Taxi and e6 Premier sedan underscores BYD’s commitment to its “three green dreams” strategy in new energy, which is comprised of; solar energy generation made relevant by environmentally-friendly energy storage, and responsibly using this green energy in electric vehicles. The BYD e6 is a key piece in the BYD vision Zero-Emissions-Eco-System, with this zero emission transport Sime and BYD help bring Hong Kong and its eco-conscious public closer to their goal of sustainability.