Nandalal Weerasinghe says Sri Lanka may spend significantly more foreign exchange on vehicle imports in 2026 than initially expected.
Speaking at a media briefing today (18), the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka stated that nearly US$2 billion had already been spent on vehicle imports last year, exceeding earlier projections of between US$1.5 billion and US$1.7 billion.
According to Dr. Weerasinghe, the higher volume of imports also generated increased government revenue through taxes and import duties collected by the Treasury.
He further revealed that approximately US$600 million had already been spent on vehicle imports during the first three months of 2026 alone.
The Governor warned that if the current pace continues throughout the year, Sri Lanka’s total vehicle import expenditure could reach around US$2.4 billion by the end of 2026, surpassing the previous year’s total.
Dr. Weerasinghe also noted that the Ministry of Finance Sri Lanka had initially projected lower vehicle imports for 2026 compared to last year.
However, current import data suggests that actual vehicle imports may exceed those forecasts.
Despite the increase, the CBSL Governor emphasized that authorities currently do not expect the higher import spending to negatively impact the government’s revenue targets.
