• Vehicle importers say irregular power supply will damage EV batteries

Importing Electric Vehicles (EV) will cost Sri Lanka twice or thrice as much as importing normal vehicles, according to the vehicle industry. Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, an industry source said that EVs did not suit Sri Lanka as importing EVs was very expensive compared to normal vehicles. “The electric mechanism is very costly and on average it costs two or three times more than a normal vehicle,” he said. He added that European governments promoted EVs not to conserve fuel but thinking about the environment, noting that those governments give grants and loans to people to purchase EVs given their high cost. “Our country cannot import two or three types of vehicles because we don’t have that amount of money,” he explained. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday (18), delivering his policy statement in Parliament, said that EVs would be given priority in the future when the Government allowed the import of vehicles again, after vehicle imports were banned in March 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic to conserve foreign reserves. “Accordingly, we should plan to use renewable energy sources as much as possible when supplying electricity to vehicles,” said the President. However, our source said that the other issue Sri Lanka faced when it came to EVs was the unavailability of proper charging stations around the country and the irregular power supply, which could damage the lifespan of batteries in EVs. “When there is an irregular power supply to the battery, the battery will lose its lifespan by 50%. That’s why all the Nissan Leaf vehicles in Sri Lanka have battery issues. They can only run for 20-40 kms with a fully-charged battery,” he added. Further, he said that the association had had enough discussions with the Central Bank Governor and the Finance Ministry and it was clear that the Government would not be able to import vehicles for another two years until the foreign exchange crisis was solved. He noted that the Government should have consulted the association before giving uninformed statements about EVs. Since April 2021, various members in the Government have been issuing statements on importing electric vehicles in the future or how vehicles would be imported with a quota. According to the industry, this had been for the purpose of controlling the second-hand vehicle prices in the market, which have boomed in the wake of the import ban. However, the sale of EVs surged last year, with growth in all three top auto markets: China, the US, and Europe. Sales increased by 160% in the first half of 2021 from a year earlier, to 2.6 million units, representing 26% of new sales in the global automotive market. China remained the world’s top EV market, with 1.1 million vehicles sold in the first half, accounting for 12% of sales. In the US, EVs have been less popular. Only 250,000 units were sold, accounting for 3% of sales. Analysis from IDTechEx has forecast that sales of electric vehicles are on track to surpass five million units this year – counting only passenger cars. “If they do, it will mean an astonishing growth rate of ~86% CAGR since 2011,” the report reads. (IR)