"TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut" (twincharged)
06/19/2014 at 13:53 • Filed to: bmw 320d, diesel, hong kong
2
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"TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut" (twincharged)
06/19/2014 at 13:53 • Filed to: bmw 320d, diesel, hong kong | 2
| 0 |
Hong Kong has finally begun to allow the sale of diesel vehicles taxed as private vehicles!
A little story first - pollution in Hong Kong is a major issue, with traffic pollution identified as one of the major causes.
(Pictured: the differences in the haze caused by pollution in Hong Kong, depending on the weather.)
In order to deal with this clear problem, Hong Kong's government banned the sale of diesel private vehicles in the past, due to the amount of particulates they produced. One of the most major schemes, introduced by the former Minister for Transport, was to change the fuel supply of all Public Light Buses and Taxis. In the past, the majority of them were diesel vehicles, belching smoke and soot as they trundled along the city streets. Now, they run on LPG.
(Pictured: a public minibus and Hong Kong taxi, both of which run on LPG.)
In addition, the sale of private diesel vehicles was completely banned in an attempt to reduce emissions in the city. The use of diesel was restricted to commercial vehicles and even they had to comply with emissions standards.
This slightly changed in 2009, when it was announced that private diesel vehicles would be allowed to drive on Hong Kong's roads. However, these private diesel vehicles were of a limited type - SUVS like the Audi Q7 and Land Rover Discovery. In addition, they were not taxed as Private Cars, but as Light Goods Vehicles. This meant that seven seaters could not erect their third row of seats, as the law dictates that commercial vehicles must share at least a third of cabin space as cargo storage. This is why all the Discoveries I've seen in Hong Kong have a dog guard fitted.
This has now changed! I first discovered this when I was walking on the street near my home when suddenly, lo and behold, I found a BMW 320d. I peeked at tax disc which said - you guessed it - Private Car. This might be due to the fact that nowadays, diesel power has become so much cleaner than it used to. So much so that in fact, modern private diesel cars meet the same emissions requirements as petrol cars in Hong Kong
Currently, diesel is only !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on the 320d in sedan form, but this could be expected to change as people start to see diesel as an alternative. Here in Hong Kong, diesel is comparatively cheaper than petrol, with Shell currently pricing it US$0.5 cheaper than normal petrol. Also, due to Hong Kong Island's many steep inclines, one might find the torque-ier characteristic of a diesel engine more useful and in the long run, more economical.
Now all we can hope for is that other manufacturers to do the same!
((I apologise if any of this information happens to be incorrect, but I'm just too excited now))