Tesla may reduce Hong Kong operations

Last year, Hong Kong officials eliminated a registration tax waiver that benefitted EV car buyers. Consequently Tesla sales in the the territory dropped significantly. In total only 99 EVs were registered in Hong Kong from April to December 2017, compared to more than 2,000 in the same period a year earlier. A source close to the company told the South China Morning Post (Post) said Tesla had written to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor asking her to rethink the waiver removal. Sales at Tesla, which employs 200 people in the city, were hit hardest. It sold 32 cars from April to December, although 2,939 cars were snapped up in March, as buyers rushed to its showrooms after Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s announcement that the waiver was ending in last year’s budget. Tesla told the Post on Sunday: “Our launch in Hong Kong in 2010 was one of Tesla’s earliest, and we remain committed to our customers here, affirming that commitment with the opening of our second Service Centre last year. “We remain hopeful that the government will continue to encourage more electric vehicles on the road and preserve Hong Kong’s lead in clean, sustainable living.”