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Wednesday, September 30 2026
Wednesday, September 30 2026
MONETABRIEF – Sri Lanka's vehicle registrations plunged in August 2026, with steep falls in cars and SUVs and motor cycles, though buses and three wheelers were up, an analysis of vehicle registry data by JB Securities shows.
Motor cars fell 28 percent to 2,609 in August from July, SUVs and crossovers fell 27 percent to 3,226 vans fell 38 percent to 763, and motor cycles fell 12 percent to 33,498.
Total vehicle registrations fell 13.9 percent to 45,811 with largest numerical fall seen in motorcycles, though percentage shares were steeper in large vehicles.
Bus registration surge 50 percent. It is not clear whether the numbers are linked to state owned buses or private vehicles.
Sri Lanka's car import spend was falling steadily from December 2025 when the currency was depreciated by the central bank by dishonoring its note issue.
Import spend on personal vehicle imports which peaked at 240.9 million US dollars in December, fell to 163.8 million in January, 148.4 million in February and 147.5 million in March, according to central bank data when the rupee collapsed.
Ironically the dishonored note issue (excess liquidity) was inflated after buying dollars to prevent appreciation in January and February 2026 by monetizing a balance of payments surplus.
Sri Lanka slapped a surcharge on vehicle import duties in May, reversing part of the economic liberalization made in February 2025, as the rupee gave way under inflationary policy of the macro-economists.
Exchange controls were also tightened. (Colombo/Sept29/2026)
| 3 month bill | 9.22% | 22bp ▼ |
| 12-m bill | 9.91% | 10bp ▼ |
| Gold (Ounce) | $4602 | - - |
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