Daimler to Test Smart Electric Cars in Hong Kong as Smog Worsens

Daimler’s partners in the trial, which include the Hong Kong Jockey Club and Swire Coca-Cola HK, will use the two-seater car for six to 12 months, the carmaker said in a statement today. Stuttgart-based Daimler’s Mercedes Benz unit will offer a service center with technicians and mechanics.

The pilot program, which will run for four years, joins a push by automakers such as Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (7211) and Nissan Motor Co. to introduce electric vehicles in Hong Kong, where pollution reached “very high” levels on a record one in four days in 2010, according to government data. The city government plans to replace some fuel-powered vehicles with electric ones and is trying hybrid buses, lawmakers said in February.

“A combination of electric vehicles and cleaner energy is a very good recipe for Hong Kong to become a greener city,” Edward Yau, Hong Kong’s environment secretary, said today. The city has 170 electric vehicles and will increase the number of charging stations to 1,000 in a year from 300, he said.