2 days Ago By Eric Jiang
The Hong Kong retail property market could tap a new wave of demand from Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers rushing to set up showrooms and related infrastructure, as the city pushes ahead with its aim to be carbon-neutral by 2050. On Tuesday, Denza, the luxury EV brand owned by BYD, rented a 14,000 square feet showroom in Wan Chai at an annual rent of over HK$1 million for a three-year term, according to property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle. The brand opened its first flagship store in Hong Kong at Kowloon Bay on last week and received more than 10,000 orders on its opening day, Zhao Changjiang, the general manager of Denza sales division, said in a social media post.
AION, the EV brand owned by Guangzhou Automobile Group, inaugurated a showroom in Sha Tin on June 15 and unveiled plans for two additional stores and after-sales centres in Hong Kong. “We can see a trend where many EV makers from mainland China are setting up showrooms in Hong Kong, as the city’s EV adoption gathers pace and given its proximity to the Southeast Asia market,” said Lucia Leung, the director, research and consultancy for Greater China at property consultancy Knight Frank. Related facilities such as workshops and warehouses for repairing and assembling EVs could also drive demand for retail space, Leung said.
“Some EV brands may not just set up conventional showrooms on the streets,” she said, referring to those on Gloucester Road, Wan Chai and Kowloon Bay. “Some of them now go into.
