Iconic Hong Kong ‘taxi’ triggering feelings of nostalgia in Auckland

A bright red vehicle with an illuminated light on its roof is turning heads in Auckland.

But before you start thinking the machine is one used by firefighters responding to a blaze, the vehicle is in fact a "taxi" that has been modelled on the iconic passenger cars of Hong Kong.

Feeling homesick after relocating to New Zealand, three former Hong Kong residents converted an old Toyota Crown Comfort into a lookalike taxi that can be found on almost any postcard from the Asian metropolis.

The result is astonishing, if the reaction from locals is anything to go by.

"I haven't seen these for a while," Westhaven dockmaster Martin Stowers says upon spotting the vehicle near the Auckland Harbour Bridge on Monday.

"I'm not sure what the history of these taxis in Hong Kong is, but I appreciate they're part of the landscape," he says, noting that he had lived in the Asian hub on two separate occasions. "I have very fond memories of Hong Kong, and it brings back good memories."

Peter Saengdee, Michael Choi and Bobby Chan are behind the conversion, stumbling across the square-shaped vehicle in an online advertisement.

An acquaintance helped them to paint the body of the car red before Choi's father, who works in the auto industry in Hong Kong, helped them to acquire parts such as the taxi metre, the roof light, stickers and a seat cover made with wooden beads from the territory.

Saengdee gets a kick out of seeing the reaction people such as Stowers have when seeing the vehicle.

"We're trying to bring a smile to people when they see the taxi here in New Zealand because it's supposed to be in Hong Kong," Saengdee says.

Hong Kong and New Zealand have very different vibes, he says.

"Hong Kong is very fast paced, very energetic. We have almost 20,000 taxis in Hong Kong," he says, adding that New Zealand is "very laid back and chill" by comparison.

"Sometimes we get a bit homesick ... so we made the taxi to sort of bring back some memory for us and a bit of nostalgia."

Passengers in Hong Kong typically use taxis that are painted red to travel within urban parts of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and some of the New Territories.

Green taxis typically operate in the New Territories, while blue taxis service Lantau Island.

The trio chose to paint the vehicle red because it was the colour most people associated with cabs in Hong Kong.

After spending several months refurbishing the car, the trio completed the project in May 2023.

The vehicle hasn't been registered as a taxi for commercial operation but is instead for casual trips around the city.

"We were thinking that it's just purely for us to enjoy and for making a little bit difference when people see it ... to surprise them to have the wow factor," Saengdee says.

Choi says the trio has received plenty of positive feedback on the Instagram page that has been created to share images of the vehicle.

Owning the vehicle makes him feel more at home in New Zealand, Choi says.

"I think the taxi represents the good economy and good times in Hong Kong," Choi says. "Taxis are an expensive form of transport for most people, so only when it's very busy in Hong Kong and the economy is very good, there will be a lot of people using it."

Chan says people often recognise the vehicle from their trips to Hong Kong.

"It makes us happy that people approach us like this," he says. "Sometimes other drivers ... wave to us.

"The fact that they know about it brings us a sense of cultural recognition. I think it's a very positive thing and everyone feels happy when talking about it."

The group plans to drive the vehicle from Auckland to the bottom of the South Island.

Saengdee says the trio wants to bring some positivity to New Zealand's diverse communities, "especially now the atmosphere all over the world is sometimes very negative because of high interest rates and high living costs".

"People will see it and they are probably very interested in how come we are doing it, and we can share some ideas," Saengdee says.

"This is all positive messages, so that's what we think - we can do the road trip as well as sharing some positivity around the community."