Latest data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka indicates that in Sri Lanka’s import growth, vehicle imports stand second to all others during the first five months of the current year.

The growth in vehicle imports to Sri Lanka has risen significantly by 93.9 per cent from January 2015 to May 2015 as against the same period last year.

Vehicles to the tune of USD 477.9 million have been imported to Sri Lanka during these five months, while during the same period last year it had been only USD 246.4 million.

Meanwhile, another significant feature here is that during this period the highest import growth has been indicated by the vehicle related import category.

During the months from January to May 2015, compared to the same period last year, the import of transport related equipment has shown the highest import growth of 123.6 per cent.

During the same period last year, transport related equipment to the tune of USD 196.6 million has been imported to Sri Lanka, while this amount has grown up to USD 439.5 million during the first five months of 2015.

The price reduction on smaller cars by the new government recently has boosted the import of smaller vehicles into Sri Lanka.