PHNOM PENH — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Monday welcomed a giant Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD's plan to set up an automotive assembly plant in the Southeast Asian country.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Liu Xueliang, general manager of BYD Asia Pacific Auto Sales Division, at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, said a news release posted on the prime minister's official Telegram channel.

"BYD has planned to build an electric vehicle (EV) assembly plant in Cambodia, with the capacity of assembling 20,000 units per year for supplying domestic and international markets," the news release said.

The news release did not say when the assembly plant will be constructed.

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

Last week, the government unveiled the National Policy on Electric Vehicle Development 2024-2030, which aims to increase the number of EVs or electric cars to 30,000, the number of electric scooters to 720,000 and the number of three-wheeler electric vehicles to 20,000 by 2030.

Currently, Cambodia has registered a total of 1,614 electric cars, 914 electric scooters and 440 three-wheeler electric vehicles, said the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, adding that the three most popular EV brands in Cambodia are China's BYD, Japan's Toyota and United States' Tesla.