Hong Kong's 2026-27 Budget Extends First Registration Tax Exemption for New Energy Vehicles to 2028, Ends Subsidy for Electric Private Cars

In the 2026-27 Budget, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, announced that the city will continue to promote the use of electric vehicles. The full exemption of the First Registration Tax for electric commercial vehicles, electric motorcycles, and electric motor tricycles will be extended until the end of March 2028.

Given that electric private cars now have mature technology, sufficient supply, an increasing variety of models, and gradually decreasing prices, they have become competitive in the market. Consequently, the First Registration Tax concession for electric private cars will not be extended after it expires at the end of March. The Environment and Ecology Bureau will announce further details at a later date.

To consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international green finance hub, the government will continue to issue sustainable bonds, build a conducive regulatory environment, and strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration. This includes implementing the Hong Kong Sustainable Disclosure Standards, for which the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council is currently conducting a public consultation on the relevant assurance regulatory framework.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is continuously refining the city's green and sustainable finance classification framework to better meet the financing needs of relevant projects, accelerate low-carbon transition in the region, and aims to formulate guidance for banks on green transition planning within the year.

The Hong Kong government will support exploring the establishment of a green technology project accelerator in Hong Kong with mainland and international multilateral financial institutions. This initiative aims to support the incubation, acceleration, and development of green technology projects in Belt and Road regions, providing innovative cases for Hong Kong's green financial services. The government will also study ways to facilitate financial institutions' access to corporate utility usage data, with the consent of the enterprises, to improve the efficiency of green financing and risk assessment.