Thailand
Cambodia’s vehicle population grows by 11.3%
Cambodia recorded an average annual increase of 11.3 percent in the number of vehicles registered in the country in the last five years, according to the vehicle registration management system of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT).
The number of vehicles registered in the country from 1990 to 2022 stood at over 6.7 million, including 5.7 million motorcycles, 728,294 light vehicles and 285,271 heavy vehicles.
Meanwhile, in a move to eliminate the use of fake licence plates, MPWT is planning to change the licence plates of old cars without QR codes to new ones with QR codes.
While disclosing this to the media in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, Sun Chanthol, Minister of MPWT, said that his ministry will discuss the matter with the Ministry of Economy and Finance soon.
The move will not only eliminate the use of fake licence plates but increase the state revenue as well. This will also help to trace vehicles evading tax.
Meanwhile, corresponding to the growth in the total number of vehicles, the number of registered electric vehicles (EVs) in Cambodia is also growing.
According to a recent report, the registration of EVs increased by 1,000 percent last year, reflecting the growing awareness of their benefits. The government is also supporting the private sector in building EV charging stations.
There are now more than 700 registered electric vehicles in the country. The MPWT is also encouraging people to use electric vehicles, as they significantly reduce pollution levels. Import duties on EVs have been reduced and the cost of travelling by them is cheaper than gasoline cars.
The Royal Government is expected to announce a national policy on electric vehicles (EVs), intended to encourage the use of environment-friendly vehicles soon, a move that is in line with the country’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050.
The policy is expected to contain recommendations to reduce the import tariff on electric vehicles and steps to enhance the number of charging stations, service centres, spare parts stores and battery disposal sites across all provinces and the national capital.
India-based Absolute Reports recently forecast that the Southeast Asian automobile industry will grow rapidly in 2022-2030. On the one hand, the lower labour costs will prompt global automobile vehicle and component manufacturers to transfer production capacity to these regions and on the other hand, the rising demand for vehicles will prompt manufacturers to increase exports to these countries.
The overall economic growth rate in the region is also higher than the global average level and it is a major driving force of world economic development. The report indicated that the growing affluence in the region could lead to a higher demand for vehicles.
The report included Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos and Cambodia. It also pointed out that by the end of 2021, the population in Southeast Asia exceeded 600 million.
Meanwhile, five investment projects on vehicle assembly have been approved in Cambodia recently. With this, the number of vehicle assembly factories in Cambodia will go up to nine, three of which are already operational.
The three auto assembly factories already in operation are Hyundai located in Koh Kong province, Daehan in Bavet city, Svay Rieng province, and RMA Cambodia’s Ford in Pursat province.
K Cambodia’s Isuzu factory located in Kampong Speu province has completed its facility construction and is about to inaugurate operation soon.
The other five companies are HGB Motor Assembly, EM Automotive, GTV Motor, Toyota, and China Matrix Technology Group.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501251641/cambodias-vehicle-population-grows-by-11-3/