Sri Lanka No. 1 importer of Japanese used cars

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka was the top importer of used cars from Japan in terms of value in 2015 with imports being relatively new cars, mainly hybrids and electrics, an analysis of vehicle registry data has showed.

The main reason for the heightened demand for this category of vehicles was “aggressive” lending by commercial banks, according to the analysis of vehicle registry data by JB Securities, a Colombo based equities brokerage.

The sharp fall in financing rates last year increased affordability which coupled with an overvalued exchange rate till September “fuelled a massive increase in demand,” JB Securities said. 

Imports by Malaysia, the next highest importer of used Japanese cars, was almost 40 percent lower than Sri Lanka, according to an analysis of January to November 2015 statistics.

JB Securities said the largest volume of Japanese used car imports was to New Zealand but the unit value was low since the shipments were mostly old cars.

Since the local agents for new cars in Sri Lanka don’t have the same offerings available in the Japanese domestic market, “the demand is heavily skewed towards Japanese used car imports,” the report said.

Sri Lanka imported 48,402 Japanese used cars in the January to November 2015 period with a unit value if 1.75 million yen and a total value of 84,547 million yen.

Malaysia was the next highest in terms of value, importing 19,409 units with a unit value of 2.58 million yen and a total value of 49,994 million yen.

The largest volume of used Japanese cars was to New Zealand – 102,487 units - but the unit value was a low 0.46 million yen with the total value being 47,280 million yen.  (Colombo/Jan25/2016)