Electric Commercial Vans 2024 & New Energy Transport Fund

The Mercedes-Benz Vito electric version, eVito, retains the same look as its gasoline sibling with a three-bar grille and large Mercedes Star fitted to the large front grille. The eVito is available in two versions – the 5,140 mm standard wheelbase and the 5,370 mm long wheelbase versions. The angles of the backs of the 3 last-row seats can be adjusted individually, or folded to increase cargo space.

The battery capacity is 100 kWh and good for a range of 378 km. The eVito also features numerous safety systems, including active braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, lane-keeping assist, fatigue warning, and the crosswind stability function.

The Nissan E-NV200 is a small commercial vehicle with European styling, featuring a storage space of 3,474 liters (4.2 cubic meters) for the 2-seat version. The rear seats in the 5-seat version can be folded up to unleash 2.32 cubic meters of cargo space. A low-floor design and dual sliding doors make for easy loading.

Produced in Spain, the E-NV200 is equipped with a 40 kWh battery, delivering 80 kW of power and 254 Nm of torque, with a range of 317 km (JC08). It boasts Keyless Go, a parking camera system, hill-start assist, and automatic headlights.

The electric version of the Peugeot Traveller, the E-Traveller, basically retains the same size and shape as the diesel version, making it well suited to the needs of the people in Hong Kong.

It features a 5-inch digital instrument panel for monitoring charging, energy saving, and power statuses, and you can select from the ECO, NORMAL, and POWER driving modes. The E-Traveller uses a 50 kWh battery, produces 100 kW of power and 260 Nm of torque, and has a range of 238 km.

Featuring a 5-seat design with sliding doors, the BYD T3 enters the electric commercial vehicle market with a price tag of HK$248,000. Despite its length of less than 4.5 meters, the T3 offers 3.8 cubic meters of cargo space with the rear seats folded and a maximum payload of 0.7 ton.

The T3 is equipped with a 44.9 kWh blade (LFP) battery and has a range of 300 km. The interior boasts artificial leather seats, a climate control system, touch screen audio system, parking camera, and USB ports.

The JoyLong EW resembles popular Japanese commercial vans and is available in standard wheelbase (EW4) and extended wheelbase (EW5) versions. Both versions are available with 2, 5, or 6 seats.

The van features a rear-mounted motor with a 73 kWh battery, good for 100 kW of power and 320 Nm of torque through the rear wheels, and a range of 350 km. The EW allows the driver to select from 10 levels of regenerative braking to extend the vehicle’s range and enhance braking power. It also has a computer monitoring system for real-time monitoring of the battery, motor and the vehicle itself. The OBD vehicle diagnostics system is very helpful for gaining a good understanding of the problems affecting the vehicle.

The DFSK EC35 stresses spacious cargo capacity, with a cargo space of 4.8 cubic meters. The 2-seat version can carry up to 1,090 kg, while the 5-seat version can carry 750 kg.

The EC35 features a 41.4 kWh battery, with 30 kW of power and 200 Nm of torque, and a range of 268 km. It supports TYPE 2 medium-speed charging and CCS2 fast charging, taking 5 hours and 50 minutes (respectively) to fully recharge.

To promote green transportation, the government established the "Pilot Green Transport Fund" in 2011, providing funding for the transport industry and charitable/non-profit organizations to test innovative green transport technologies. In 2020, the government allocated an additional HK$800 million to expand the fund's coverage, and in September of that year, renamed the "Pilot Green Transport Fund" to the "New Energy Transport Fund (NETF)," which is divided into "Applications for Trial (AT)" and "Applications for Use (AU)." Below are the key points for applications; for more details, please refer to the information from the Environment and Ecology Bureau.

• The applicant must be an existing transport operator based in Hong Kong (including cross-boundary transport);

• Operates commercial transport tools including goods vehicles (including special purpose vehicles), taxis, light buses, buses, vessels, motorcycles, non-road vehicles (applicable to vehicle models approved by the Transport Department or the Hong Kong Airport Authority), or the aforesaid transport tools of charitable/non-profit making organisations providing services to their clients;

• has been in the relevant transport service for more than one year with supporting documents to show at least one-year ownership/use of the conventional counterpart of the green innovative technology product proposed for trial;

• will likely remain in the service after the trial to bear fruit;

• has the potential to put the new technology under test into wider use in its own operation upon successful trial; will apply to install its own charging station in the same application, or will use its own existing charging stations, to support daily charging of the subsidised product if it is an electric one, unless exempted by the Government;

• is willing to share with other operators the findings of the test of the subsidised product;

• is not receiving or has not received funding from other Government sources, public bodies or charitable organisations for the same purpose of the application, except the tax incentive schemes to encourage the use of electric vehicles and environment-friendly commercial vehicles;

• is not a supplier or manufacturer of the green innovative technology product proposed for trial, or its related companies.

There are limits on the number of AT applications for each type of transport (including motorcycles, minibuses, taxis, trucks, and buses) and on the number of products being tested. Also, each application is limited to one type of green innovative transport technology, and one type of transport.

Qualified applicants can, according to their operational needs, receive subsidies for purchasing new energy vehicles approved by the Transport Department under the "One-for-One" program. This is to prevent a steep increase in the number of vehicles due to the subsidy scheme.

Existing conventional vehicles under the "One-for-One" arrangement are not eligible for the "Phasing Out Euro IV Diesel Commercial Vehicles - Ex-gratia Payment Scheme" to avoid double subsidies. The applicants' vehicle must meet the specified driving mileage within the designated period according to the approved conditions to receive the subsidy in stages. The subsidy limit for each AU is HK$10,000,000, while the total subsidy limit for each applicant and its related companies (excluding franchised bus and heavy vehicle operators) is HK$12,000,000. This limit is calculated separately from the AT subsidy limit.

Form for Applications for Trial (New Energy Vehicles / Vessels)

Form for Applications for Trial (Emission Reduction / Fuel Saving Device or Conversion)

Note: The New Energy Transport Fund Secretariat will publish the application guidelines and forms for AU in due course.