TWO dual-mode plug-in hybrid cars produced by Shenzhen-based carmaker BYD are in trial use in Hong Kong. A program was launched by the SAR in July to promote wider use of green-power vehicles.
Kitty Poon, Hong Kong’s Undersecretary for the Environment, went for a spin in a BYD car yesterday, the first time the SAR government had conducted a trial on a hybrid vehicle charged from an external power source.
Government departments are testing the functionality and performance of the cars during the three-month trial.
Traveling to a children’s workshop in Yuen Long in the eco-friendly car, Poon said the government will work with other car manufacturers to explore the possibility of testing more electric cars.
BYD debuted the world’s first production plug-in hybrid crossover, the e6, at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The vehicle could hit the American and European markets by 2011, but for the time being, it is only available in China. (Mu Zi)