The First Cars in Hong Kong

Today, cars are a ubiquitous sight across Hong Kong, but that was not always the case. In fact, the narrow streets of the Central and Western District on Hong Kong Island—originally the City of Victoria—stem directly from an era predating the advent of the automobile.

For the first sixty years of the colony, land transport occurred mainly on foot, or via sedan chairs, handcarts, and Chinese wheelbarrows. Later in the nineteenth century, rickshaws and the Peak Tram were introduced to the city.

It was only in the early twentieth century, between 1903 and 1905, that the first internal combustion engine cars appeared on the streets of Hong Kong. This occurred when an initial batch of European vehicles, including Vauxhalls, a De Dion-Bouton, and a C.G.V. Coupe, was imported into the colony. Elite British officials and expatriate merchants are generally credited with commissioning these first vehicles.

However, these automobiles were not met with great enthusiasm. Within the first sixteen months of their arrival, numerous injuries and fatalities sparked local outrage. The general public deemed cars dangerous, and the colonial government claimed that Hong Kong's narrow streets were unsuited for motorized traffic, except to a very limited extent.

Despite this initial pushback, improvements in automotive technology and the widespread adoption of personal cars by British officials and affluent residents eventually gave the automobile cultural appeal. More than a century after the arrival of the first car in the territory, Hong Kong now has about 578,000 licensed private cars out of a total of roughly 805,000 registered motor vehicles overall.