Phnom Penh, Jul 11 (IANS): Cambodian government aims to increase the number of Electric Vehicles (EVs) or electric cars to 30,000 by 2030, according to its National Policy on the Development of EVs 2024-2030 released on Thursday.

The Southeast Asian country has also planned to increase the number of electric scooters to 720,000, and three-wheeler electric vehicles to 20,000 by 2030, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The vision of the national policy is to transform Cambodia into a country with optimal electric vehicles in order to support and achieve sustainable development and ensure people's well-being," the government said in the release.

It added that EVs have gained popularity in Cambodia, thanks to their less expenditure on fuel and environmental friendliness.

"Using EVs costs only 9,633 riels (2.35 US dollars) for a distance of 100 kilometers, while using petrol or diesel cars costs up to 35,723 riels (8.71 dollars)," it said.

Currently, Cambodia has officially registered a total of 1,614 electric cars, 914 electric scooters and 440 three-wheeler electric vehicles. The kingdom has 21 EV charging stations.

The three most popular EV brands in Cambodia are China's BYD, Japan's Toyota, and America's Tesla, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Cambodian government has reduced import duties on EVs since 2021 to about 50 percent lower than taxes on traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.

Udom Pisey, an EV manager at the Car4you Co., Ltd., which imports Letin Mengo EVs from China, said EVs have far fewer moving parts than petrol or diesel vehicles, so maintenance and repair costs are also cheaper.

"Using EVs not only saves money on fuel, but also reduce air pollution," she said.