Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are accelerating the construction of charging facilities tailored for Hong Kong and Macao electric vehicles. The move comes as a growing number of private cars from the two special administrative regions are traveling across the boundary under preferential policies.

EV batteries on the Chinese mainland use the national standard, which differs from the European standard used in Hong Kong and Macao. As a result, Hong Kong and Macao EV owners previously had to carry their own adapters or plugs to charge their cars on the mainland — an inconvenient solution with higher usage risks.

"The growing proportion of EVs among Hong Kong and Macao vehicles traveling to and from the mainland has driven up charging demand," said Gu Jun, deputy general manager of the emerging business department at China Southern Power Grid.

In the latest development, two charging piles at a station in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, were put into operation last week.

According to China Southern Power Grid, the constructor of the charging piles, all nine mainland cities in the GBA — Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing — now have charging facilities compatible with the European standard, including 100 charging stations and 169 charging piles.

The facilities have been installed on major roads, in popular shopping areas, at innovation and entrepreneurship parks for Hong Kong and Macao entrepreneurs, and in areas frequented by overseas Chinese.

Shenzhen Bus Group has also built 12 European-standard charging piles in Shenzhen, primarily in Futian and Nanshan districts.

Data from Hong Kong's Environmental Protection Department shows that as of the end of October, Hong Kong had around 105,000 EVs, accounting for roughly 11.5 percent of the total number of vehicles.

The share of EVs among newly registered private cars in Hong Kong has risen significantly in recent years, jumping from 6.3 percent in 2019 to 64.6 percent last year.

Charging demand from Hong Kong and Macao EVs on the mainland has surged as more private cars "drive north" for tourism, family visits and business, facilitated by two travel programs.

The Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles program, introduced on July 1 last year, allows eligible private cars from Hong Kong to travel between the city and Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge without being subject to regular quotas.

A similar program for Macao vehicles was launched six months earlier.

According to official statistics, single-plate private cars from Hong Kong and Macao made over 2.44 million cross-boundary trips via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge this year, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total traffic at the port.

"The construction of charging piles tailored for Hong Kong and Macao vehicles has made traveling to the mainland much more convenient. We no longer have to worry about compatibility issues with charging equipment and can enjoy safer charging services," said Timothy Chui, an EV driver from Hong Kong.