Sri Lanka’s vehicle import expenditure has reached its third-highest level in history in 2025, according to the Central Bank’s Annual Economic Review for 2025.
With the gradual relaxation of motor vehicle import restrictions, all limitations on private vehicle imports had been lifted by January 2025.
In addition, the government introduced several tariff and non-tariff policy measures to manage the potential surge in demand following prolonged restrictions.
However, despite these measures, vehicle stock has increased significantly in 2025, reflecting the recovery in demand and economic activity that has been compounded by years of restrictions.
Notably, a sharp rise in imports was observed after April 2025, with both private and commercial vehicle categories contributing to a total import expenditure of USD 2.04 billion.
This marks the third-highest annual vehicle import expenditure on record, following USD 2.12 billion in 2015 and USD 2.09 billion in 2018.
