Hong Kong  - Switching to electric-powered vehicles to make the air cleaner may cause other problems, or economic opportunities, in the safe disposal of vehicle batteries, a news report said Monday.

Hong Kong already sends batteries from mobile phones and laptops to South Korea or Japan for recycling because there are no suitable local recycling facilities.

"Sending all the waste overseas will not be an ultimate solution, and Hong Kong needs its own recycling facility, one that is based on advanced technology," Universal Cars general manager Leonard Cheng told the South China Morning Post.

"If just one-tenth of the vehicles switch to electric, we are talking about a fleet of 50,000. This will create a huge demand for waste-battery handling," he said.

The Hong Kong government estimated there would be about 200 electric vehicles in the city by 2010 including 10 supplied by Japan's Mitsubishi Motors that will be used by the police and other government departments.

But that is expected to grow as vehicle makers and distributors import more vehicles including battery-powered goods' vans from Britain that will arrive early next year. A Hong Kong manufacturer, EuAuto, is planning to launch a two-seat micro electric car later this month.

Electric-powered vehicles use lithium-ion batteries which need to be replaced after about 10 years. (dpa)