Electric motorbike sales expected to increase 15 percent

The Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) hopes its new plan will curb the total number of two-stroke engine vehicles in Macau by “about 30 percent”.

DSPA director Raymond Tam said the program aims to remove 9,575 two-wheel vehicles that run on two-stroke engines – which are considered major pollutants – from Macau’s roads.

As part of the plan, the government has proposed a financial support measure which will compensate vehicle owners up to MOP3,500 when disposing of such vehicles. 

A few motorbike sellers expect electric motorbike sales to increase by 15 percent this year.

According to a report by Macao Daily News, some dealerships say that this compensation is not attractive enough, although some owners might still consider changing their vehicles.

The report also says that, on the first day after the policy came into effect, several owners of two-stroke engine vehicles visited dealerships for new motors.

Vehicle salesman Tam noted that not many people in Macau own two-stroke engine vehicles, except fans of such motors. He remarked that these drivers did not find the government’s proposed MOP3,500 incentive attractive, as they often spent more than that on vehicle maintenance and repair.

Tam expects approximately 3,000 two-stroke engine motors to be replaced. There are currently around 7,000 such motors in Macau.