After five years of vehicle import restrictions, Sri Lanka’s vehicle market is open again. But this time, the focus has shifted dramatically from traditional fuel-powered vehicles to a surge in electric alternatives, reshaping the nation’s automotive landscape
Accelerating EV adoption
The real turning point came earlier this year, when the Government lifted restrictions on Electric Vehicle (EV) imports on 1 February, and as a result, electric cars became more accessible to Sri Lankans.
EV imports in Sri Lanka have grown exponentially since then. To understand the scale of this shift, The Sunday Morning Business requested import data from Sri Lanka Customs.
According to official figures, Sri Lanka imported 33,974 new EVs across all categories in just eight months, with a total Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value exceeding Rs. 28 billion.
The import data serves as a stark metric of the velocity with which demand was unleashed. In January, before the lifting of the restriction, the total EV import quantity was 1,717 units, valued at Rs. 553,894,691. Immediately following the policy change, the volume and value surged dramatically, peaking in April and remaining robust through August.
A dual market reality characterises this boom. High-volume, affordable electric motorcycles and mopeds (HS 8711 family) drove the unit count, accounting for more than 9,000 units in the first four months of the year and more than 29,000 units in the January to August time period.
Meanwhile, the high-value electric motorcar segment (HS 8703 family) controlled the majority of the total value; even based on the partial calculation from January to May this year, the CIF value for cars was already Rs. 10 billion.
Electric motorcars accounted for more than Rs. 22 billion in CIF value in the January to August period alone, along with more than 4,000 units over the period.
This means that although fewer cars are imported, their individual value is substantially higher, confirming that premium and luxury passenger transport spending is driving the immediate forex outflow.
The most significant passenger car segment driving this value, and likely favoured by current import criteria, is the mid-range category defined as motors with capacity exceeding 50 kW but not exceeding 100 kW (HS 87038032), which accounted for 2,953 units during March to August.
China’s grip on the new automotive landscape
According to Customs data, China is the undisputed market hegemon, supplying the vast majority of EVs imported between January and August. Based on the calculated data, China accounts for 31,239 – roughly 90% of total volume and over Rs. 27 billion in CIF value.
This dominance is not a local phenomenon, but a global one, according to Arutha Co-Founder and Director of Civic Education Rehana Thowfeek.
“It is not only in Sri Lanka that Chinese EVs are dominating; globally, demand for Chinese EVs is growing rapidly,” Thowfeek said. “China holds 62% of the global EV market. It has the best-in-class EV technology so understandably there is global demand for them. The country is successfully transitioning its export basket into high-tech exports, so the emergence of Chinese EVs is to be expected,” she added.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, John Keells CG Auto, the official distributor of BYD in Sri Lanka, confirmed that the company alone had imported a total of 8,011 EVs up until early October since the import ban was lifted earlier this year, demonstrating the success of Chinese brands in capturing the freshly opened market.
Is the nation ready to power EVs?
According to the Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan 2025–2044 of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), transport accounts for nearly 51% of Sri Lanka’s total carbon dioxide emissions. Replacing fuel-based vehicles with electric ones is a key decarbonisation goal.
Sharing her perspective on the broader policy environment, Thowfeek noted the lack of a specific policy framework actively promoting EV adoption in Sri Lanka. “It seems to be an organic demand, probably spurred on by global EV trends and adoption,” she said.
“Tariff structures are the same for both EV and non-EV vehicles. There are countries like those in the European Union (EU) and Australia that have adopted policies such as tax incentives to promote EVs, but this is not the case in Sri Lanka.”
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) Director General H.K. Wickramasinghe said that, at present, the establishment and operation of EV charging stations in Sri Lanka were not regulated. He added that the authorities had therefore commenced the process of drafting regulations to govern the industry.
He further noted that due to the unregulated nature of the industry, the authorities did not have an exact count of the total number of EV charging stations in the country at present.