Japanese imports badly hit by ‘currency’ unrest
View(s):Japanese vehicle imports have been badly hit by present currency fluctuations as the cost of used and brand new vehicles imported from Japan have gone up due to the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar and appreciation of the Japanese yen against the dollar and other factors like the government restriction on imports, vehicle importers say.
Vehicle importers will have to bear the increased cost of Rs.300,000 to Rs.400,000, due to the currency fluctuations, former president of the Vehicle Importers’ Association of Sri Lanka (VIASL) Indika Sampath Merenchige disclosed.
“Sri Lanka is the number one importer of Japanese vehicles, in terms of value, after Malaysia,” he said adding that small economical Japanese cars will be imported and introduced to the local market to tackle the current situation.
Sri Lanka was the leading importer of used cars from Japan in terms of value with imports being relatively new cars, mainly hybrids and electrics, he revealed. Japanese domestic vehicles are also far better quality safety-wise with features like air bags, ABS and cutting edge auto brake radar systems.The most commonly used small vehicles in the region are not equipped with such safety standards and are a road hazard to the driver as well as other motorists on the road.
He complimented the government for stipulating safety standards when importing vehicles to the country which in return will reduce motor accidents. Re-conditioned Japanese vehicles imported to Sri Lanka must be registered, insured and roadworthy to drive on the roads.
Generally used vehicles are shipped to the ports of Colombo and Hambantota. The most common shipping method Roll-on, Roll-off is used for vehicle shipment.
However, at the request of customers another method called container shipping method is also arranged.
The age of used cars imported should be under two years, whereas vehicles (vans and dual purpose) should not be more than five years old, he revealed.