Gov’t open to banning new fossil-fuel vehicle registrations

The Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) has not ruled out banning new fossil-fuel vehicle registrations, but stressed that the measure would have broad implications and would need to be considered in light of public consensus.

Under the “Macau Long-Term Decarbonization Strategy,” the government has proposed studying a cut-off year for new fossil-fuel vehicle registrations, with the roadmap aiming for land transport to achieve near-zero emissions by 2050 and targeting 2035 for all newly registered light vehicles and motorcycles to be zero-emission.

The authorities are now studying the specific year for halting new registrations of conventional fuel-powered vehicles, stating that they will “work with the Transport Bureau in due course to formulate regulatory measures and promote the low-carbon transition of land transport.”

Latest figures from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) and the Transport Bureau (DSAT) show that Macau recorded 4,466 new motor vehicle registrations in the first five months of this year, including 985 in May.

In the January–February period, 2,134 new vehicles were registered, with electric models comprising 49.3%, or 1,051 units, and conventional fuel and other types accounting for 50.7%, or around 1,083 units.

While electric vehicles made up 31.4% of new registrations in 2024 and 37.8% in 2025, they still account for only 6.4% – or 16,339 out of 254,393 – of all motor vehicles on the road as of the end of 2025, noted lawmaker Leong Pou U.

The authorities have stated, however, that no subsidy scheme for replacing conventional light vehicles with electric ones is currently being planned.

The bureau has laid out a comprehensive roadmap under its electric vehicle promotion plan, rolling out a series of measures since 2022 – including subsidy schemes for electric scooter replacements and the phase-out of old diesel vehicles, alongside a 10% reduction in public charging fees that took effect earlier this year.

The city’s charging and battery-swap infrastructure has also been steadily upgraded, with a pilot scheme for neighborhood battery-swap cabinets for scooters launched last year and a supercharging station for light and heavy vehicles slated for Cotai by mid-2026, aimed at meeting the growing demand for fast-charging facilities.

The bureau expressed confidence that these initiatives will significantly accelerate the adoption of new-energy vehicles across Macau.