Hong Kong garages feeling squeeze but EVs offer chance for upgrade: experts

Hong Kong’s car maintenance sector has slipped into a downturn due to increased electric vehicle (EV) ownership and a rise in motorists seeking repair services in mainland China, industry insiders have said.

But the shift also presents an opportunity for the industry to reestablish itself as a specialised and technologically advanced sector, according to Ringo Lee Yiu-pui, governor and honorary life president of the Hong Kong, China Automobile Association.

“Right now we are going through significant changes in the industry,” he said.

“Electric vehicles are very clean, so this may attract young people to join the car maintenance industry, as the idea that it is messy, hard labour is no longer accurate.

“Therefore, the industry has just been upgraded – they [the workers] used to be called ‘garage boys’, but now they are licensed mechanics.”

Lee’s observations came amid a significant downturn over the past year for the car repair industry.