EVs – leading the charge?
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Aldoris, the choon-paan-karaya, came down the lane in his gaily decorated tuk-tuk, playing a familiar Sinhala tune and stopped at the gate where the trio had gathered.“Aldoris ei oyage three-roda rathaya viduli balayen duwana ekakata wenas karanney naththey (Aldoris, why don’t you change your tuk-tuk to an electric tuk-tuk)?” asked Kussi Amma Sera. “Aiyo Miss, eka hari ganan ney (Aiyo Miss, that is very expensive),” replied Aldoris.
“Paththara wala thiyenawa viduli balayen duwana ewa tikai kiyala lankawey thiyenna eva wala mila adika nisa (According to the newspapers, there are only a few electric tuk-tuks in
Sri Lanka as they are expensive),” noted Mabel Rasthiyadu. “Aldorista aluth three roda rathayak ganna nam, thava thungunayak hamba karanna wewi (Aldoris would have to triple his sales to afford a new tuk-tuk),” echoed Serapina.
Electric vehicles (EVs) seem to be today’s topic going by the conversation on this Thursday morning with Arty, the intrepid entrepreneur who had called, rather early, at 7.30 a.m.
“I was intrigued by the recent flood of newspaper and social media ads on the sale of EVs. What is also fascinating is that large conglomerates have suddenly entered the car market, solely selling EVs,” he noted.
“This was not their traditional business avenue,” I said. “With Japan leading the way in the EV market, the used car dealers will also start importing these vehicles into Sri Lanka,” he said. “It remains to be seen as to what percentage of the car market will constitute EVs for, despite a lot of hype and massive advertising campaigns, this segment of cars is not, as yet, controlling the market,” I said.
There is still some hesitancy in acquiring an EV car as the replacement battery costs are as high as between Rs. 2 million to Rs. 6 million depending on the make of the vehicle, according to some reports. EV batteries, however, can last between 8 to 15 years.
According to a spokesperson for the Vehicle Importers’ Association of Sri Lanka (VIASL), EVs account for about 15-20 per cent of the market, with hybrids the most popular model of vehicles followed by petrol vehicles. He said normal vehicles are at a price disadvantage against EVs as there is no standard duty structure for these new vehicles compared to traditional vehicles. This is one of the reasons why EV importer John Keells Holdings (JKH) has complained to the Courts against arbitrary fixing of duties by Customs on EVs.
On another, connected aspect of the business, the VIASL spokesperson said demand for all vehicles would come down by around 30-40 per cent this year as the pent-up demand last year has now saturated. While the Central Bank says the number of Letters of Credit (LCs) opened to import vehicles might be around US$1.5 billion this year, lower than $2 billion in 2025, the VIASL official believes it might be much lower than that.
Going back to an earlier comment, why have large conglomerates like JKH, Hayleys and Browns which have traditionally been in the business of plantations (owning and/or managing), financial services, IT, leisure, transportation and logistics, consumer foods, retail, property, etc, gone into the EV business? Because they see an opportunity in this new area, just like entering the relatively new IT services business more than three decades ago, which was not their core business but which has transformed the business sector by leaps and bounds and substantially grown the business.
According to JKH officials, the company invested in EVs sensing an opportunity here and as it connected with the company’s sustainability initiatives and climate change fundamentals. It was after JKH entered the fray that Hayleys and Browns make an entry into the business.
What is interesting is that all these companies are importing solely Chinese-model cars and SUVs dominating this segment of the market even though Japan, the first preference for Sri Lankan car importers, also manufactures EVs. This is a far cry from the trends, three to four decades ago when the world looked suspiciously at anything made in China which was then considered not of good quality.
Now China is a big supplier of smartphones, computers and other electronic goods, footwear and toys among a whole range of goods sold in the US. If it is good for the selective, quality-conscious US market, then it should definitely be good for the rest of the world. This is how the world perceives the quality of Chinese goods nowadays.
The thirst for new cars came soon after the government in February 2025 lifted a 5-year ban on vehicle imports, resulting in a surge in importers opening LCs. That demand has now petered out.
Traditional car traders have been AMW, Stafford, DIMO, David Peiris, Car Mart, Colonial Motors, Ideal Motors, Kia Motors, Toyota and United Motors among others and it’s only a matter of time when these companies also venture into EVs. United Motors and DIMO are already in this business.
JKH in its quarterly report ending December 31, 2025 said that despite the ongoing Sri Lanka Customs dispute and the normalisation of pent-up demand, JKCG (its EV subsidiary) recorded a strong performance during the quarter. JKCG has a very healthy order pipeline with over 3,900 vehicles to be delivered in the ensuing months, according to that report. The substantial uplift in profitability during the quarter was primarily driven by the strong performance of the group’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) business, among other sectors.
LOLC (parent company of Browns), in its annual report for the year ending March 2025, said: “With an ambition of providing affordable and sustainable mobility, the group entered into partnerships with Wuling and BAW to make available NEVs under these brands as well as to establish a network of charging stations across the country complementing the existing EV charging infrastructure. Under Browns, the group’s foray into the affordable NEV segment is a notable expansion of the trading strategies. We believe that our strategies will assist greater mobility as well as personal aspirations of the middle-income families of Sri Lanka.”
There was marginal reference to EVs in the reports of Hayleys which, however, are expected to figure prominently in its next report, the current financial accounting year – Apri1 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.
Along with the demand for EVs, charging stations are also being set up across Sri Lanka to make it convenient for EVs.
The top EV producers in the world are US-based Tesla, China’s BYD, Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford (the last named, both from the US). Interestingly, Japan is not in the picture.
It would be interesting to see how many more players enter the EV market this year given the issue of the exorbitant cost of running a petrol vehicle. The more players and rising demand globally and in Sri Lanka for EVs would also reduce the cost of a replacement battery, one of the concerns that motorists have these days in acquiring a new EV.
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