Govt. suspends motor vehicles imports for 1 year

[Skyonline]

The Government has decided to suspend vehicle Imports for a year in a bid to stop cash outflow, Cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said. He told reporters at the weekly Cabinet press briefing that an assessment of the vehicle market has shown that there are enough vehicles imported into the country to last a year.

He said that due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, the country is facing a serious foreign currency crisis and hence certain curbs are needed to stop cash outflows. Meanwhile Cabinet this week approved a proposal submitted by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Minister of Finance, for allocation of provisions from the Department of National Budget to State institutions who lack allocations to repair the vehicles that can be used after undergoing an overhaul.

Rambukwella said that it has been observed that a considerable number of vehicles in Government institutions lie unutilised at present due to lack of proper maintenance whereas the number of vehicles that can be used after renovation has been calculated at 4,116, while the number of vehicles that can be discarded amounts to 5,588.

While the vehicles that can be repaired will be transferred through the Comptroller General’s Office under the Ministry of Finance to the State institutions that lack enough vehicles, a formal methodology will be worked out for discarding irreparable vehicles, he said.

Last week the Finance Ministry announced a facility for public officials to purchase motor vehicles in the domestic market using the concessionary motor vehicle permits. 

http://www.ft.lk/front-page/Govt-suspends-motor-vehicles-imports-for-1-year-says-enough-in-market/44-705651

 

[GayanR]

how about spare parts imports?Can t***;*lan*a import spare parts?

[ajm]

good decision, hope the shady car dealers will be completely wiped out of the earth..

 

[priyanka]

32 minutes ago, ajm said:

good decision, hope the shady car dealers will be completely wiped out of the earth..

 

Yes ... only the big car sellers will survive 

Some of them are with vehicle imported 7-8 years ago... like NAVARA... so they ll have a good time... to get their stocks cleared.. 

[tiv]

Totally counting on the scammers and hoarders of junk from Japan to be wiped off. But another lot are on the rise, the buying and selling lot. They buy 250,000km cars, turn them to a magical 80,000km mileage, do a "sale paint"and off she goes to a poor noob.

My good old painter whom i've known over 15 years now has no time to attend to my humbler projects, instead he's occupied with these sale paints, they do a KDH in one day, 45000LKR, just a lick of paint on the old paint. Tie up the bumpers and shes gone. 

[priyanka]

And the prices are going sky high day by day... especially the so called "market" vehicles... like vitz, premio... unbelievable prices 

[tiv]

42 minutes ago, priyanka said:

And the prices are going sky high day by day... especially the so called "market" vehicles... like vitz, premio... unbelievable prices 

You can get a barely used c200 for about 1 mil less than premio money now

[Sylvi]

8 hours ago, GayanR said:

how about spare parts imports?Can t***;*lan*a import spare parts?

Import of spares are not restricted, any one can go to a bank open a LC or can get Bank to transfer  by TT money.

[Kavvz]

http://www.newswire.lk/2020/09/19/vehicle-importers-association-gives-an-update-on-current-vehicle-market/

1.Key facts: 40% of importers have gone bankrupt?

2. Advice is for the public not to buy vehicles at inflated costs. 

Doesn't make any sense as if the importers/ car sales have jacked up prices (and we know they all have) how are any bankrupt? Even if they are closing up shop as the prices of their inventory is inflated by at least 1mil they will still walk away with a nice profit even if they sell all the vehicles below market cost....

Honestly these buggers and their B.S claims: Making killer profits ? and playing the victims here...Oh Please!

[iRage]

18 hours ago, Kavvz said:

2. Advice is for the public not to buy vehicles at inflated costs. 

Doesn't make any sense as if the importers/ car sales have jacked up prices (and we know they all have) how are any bankrupt?

AIyo....you missed the point noh ? You are NOT supposed to buy cars at inflated prices from individuals and small time independent importers. You are supposed to pay inflated prices pus an extra premium and buy cars from their member orgs !

Well...it depends on your definition of bankrupt...they can be considered bankrupt because they are unable to pay their debtors and have no cashflow...in which case the bankrupt party is to liquidate their assets and pay the debtors. However, with car sales...none of these guys actually put money in to it and the stock is based on various financing sources (banks, investors, etc...). Right now I am sure they cannot liquidate their stock (at least not at the rate they used to before); thus it is pretty much worthless. Then on the other hand even if they do liquidate the stock..they will have to pay out the banks and other investors who have money tied in the stock. So..yes...the car sale can be left without nothing. Do I feel sad for them ? No....they have cheated people from their hard earned money for long enough by selling them utter rubbish that even if they do go bankrupt...they still stole enough money from people...so...good for them.

[Kavvz]

3 hours ago, iRage said:

AIyo....you missed the point noh ? You are NOT supposed to buy cars at inflated prices from individuals and small time independent importers. You are supposed to pay inflated prices pus an extra premium and buy cars from their member orgs !

? ? ?

 

Quote

Well...it depends on your definition of bankrupt...they can be considered bankrupt because they are unable to pay their debtors and have no cashflow...in which case the bankrupt party is to liquidate their assets and pay the debtors. However, with car sales...none of these guys actually put money in to it and the stock is based on various financing sources (banks, investors, etc...). Right now I am sure they cannot liquidate their stock (at least not at the rate they used to before); thus it is pretty much worthless. Then on the other hand even if they do liquidate the stock..they will have to pay out the banks and other investors who have money tied in the stock. So..yes...the car sale can be left without nothing. Do I feel sad for them ? No....they have cheated people from their hard earned money for long enough by selling them utter rubbish that even if they do go bankrupt...they still stole enough money from people...so...good for them.

But that's the thing,  if they dropped their prices they would still make money as their cost on the inventory they are selling is much lower ( compared to the current market price)....

Personally I don't think any of these car sales are loosing money. Because if I put myself in their shoes: The first thing I would do when faced with a cash crunch because products aren't moving, is to look at my margins and adjust prices lower. These fellows are all adjusting their prices UPWARDS! While their costs are the same as before...so no one is bankrupt yet. When we do see them sweating about making payroll and paying interest on inventory is when we will see the prices come down...

So all those buyers who can wait to buy a vehicle, please do so. Don't fall for the hype and panic buy. 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Kavvz

[Gummybr]

On 9/19/2020 at 8:01 PM, Kavvz said:

http://www.newswire.lk/2020/09/19/vehicle-importers-association-gives-an-update-on-current-vehicle-market/

1.Key facts: 40% of importers have gone bankrupt?

2. Advice is for the public not to buy vehicles at inflated costs. 

 

Says one of the biggest crooks in the market.

When things are like this Permits will be issued to the onoroble MP's (dont want to call them Honourable as they do not have any honour). What a waste, this is why I think none of the governments have proper plans. One side they say dont import and on the other they give permits.

[Kavvz]

2 hours ago, Gummybr said:

What a waste, this is why I think none of the governments have proper plans. One side they say dont import and on the other they give permits.

True. Especially now that the prices of daily essentials have increased considerably over the last few weeks...Even staples like rice & coconuts have shot-up. You'd think that the MP's would lead by example and do their bit to help lower inflation,  but oh no...

(And I am not taking a political stance here. I have equal contempt for the last lot of buffaloes we had in parliment- More, come to think of it, as those idiots were voted in with a mandate to FIX the system, not make it worse...) 

[RoughRider]

Unusual price hike in vehicles: VIASL

21 September 2020 12:00 am - 0      - 687

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Vehicle prices increased from Rs.200,000 to Rs. 500,000

Resulting in the Government’s decision to ban the import of motor vehicles and luxury goods from March 19, the local vehicle market has become unstable, the Vehicle Importers Association of Sri Lanka (VIASL) President Indika Sampath Merinchige said.  

He told Daily Mirror that vehicle prices in the local market had been increased.   
Accordingly, the prices of the second-hand vehicle market had been increased at a price range between Rs. 200,000 to 500,000 the VIASL President said.   
“Having this kind of market in vehicle sales is not good for its future. 40 per cent of the vehicle sales centres had to be closed due to the lack of brand-new vehicles for sale. Most of them had taken the land for rent or lease. Even though the vehicle sale is zero the lease or the rent has to be paid,” he said.   

However, there are about 1,000 brand-new vehicles available in the market which is not sufficient for the demand, Mr Merinchige said.   

Therefore, he requested the Government to take decisions to bring this unusual situation under control while implementing solutions such as permitting the import of Japanese vehicles which are at least within seven years from the vehicle manufacture date or request large scale vehicle assembling companies to promote their products in our country or to encourage local vehicle importers to import electric cars to support the economy, Merinchige added.   

 

[gayanath]

7 hours ago, RoughRider said:

 

Therefore, he requested the Government to take decisions to bring this unusual situation under control while implementing solutions such as permitting the import of Japanese vehicles which are at least within seven years from the vehicle manufacture date or request large scale vehicle assembling companies to promote their products in our country or to encourage local vehicle importers to import electric cars to support the economy, Merinchige added.   

 

Why up to 7 year old vehicles? What is the benefit? 

[Gummybr]

Benefit is for them, they can make a bigger buck out of it.

On the point of large scale vehicle assembling plants, almost all major manufacturers have factories in India, and they are running at below capacity right now, do you think that they will bring a plant to Sri Lanka? What if the government changes its stance on vehicle imports just like always?

On the topic of electric vehicles, we are dependent on coal power, how does that support our economy?

My earlier point of having a proper plan for the country is the most important, they should have a plan and not change it like they change clothes. That way its easier to develop this country, right now everyone seems to be like headless chicken running around with no proper plan in place.

[kush]

I think motoring public has more things to worry about. Parts imports are restricted. Very soon keeping the car on the road will be a challenge.

I believe we gave enough vehicles on the road just that we need to manage for may be a year or so until our foreign exchange position improve. Everybody will have to hang on to their vehicles for while longer.

Only the first timers will be affected due to absurd prices quoted by this so called vehicle traders.

Government at this time has to prioritize imports only to essentials.

 

[Kavvz]

1 hour ago, kush said:

Government at this time has to prioritize imports only to essentials.

Agreed! We all need to do our part, but I think import restrictions need to be reviewed and expanded a bit so things don't get out of control. I mean, look at people fighting over turmeric and worrying about spare-parts for vehicles and industrial raw materials, that's just a silly situation...But it's confusing because the essentials seem to have tight import restrictions on them and non-essentials seem to be coming in under the radar....? 

And I am super confused  about the bus-lane issue...For real, we must be the only country where the bus lane is actually more congestioned than regular traffic (private motorcar) traffic. It should be the otherway around shouldn't it? People opting to take private cars into the city should be penalized and mass transit users should be rewarded with faster, cheaper commutes...

Edited September 23, 2020 by Kavvz

[Kavvz]

5 hours ago, gayanath said:

Why up to 7 year old vehicles? What is the benefit? 

No benefit (not to the country at least...) Older vehicles mean cheaper prices= vehicles will be more affordable= they will sell more vehicles. 

That's just silly and is totally contradictory to what the government is trying to acheive with the short term vehicle ban as well as the long-term goal of decreasing congestion on our roads and improving mass transit systems...

 That statement is just pure nonsense and totally self-serving! 

Edited September 23, 2020 by Kavvz

[kush]

7 year vehicle which is not road worthy in Japan or UK or worse an insurance write off could be bought for nothing and exported here for a good profit. Not a bad idea. "Bora diye malu banawa"

I hardly see buses on the Bus lane. Put good buses that you  can sit and travel in comfort that goes on schedule  I would be the first to keep the car at home.

Edited September 23, 2020 by kush

[iRage]

8 hours ago, kush said:

7 year vehicle which is not road worthy in Japan or UK or worse an insurance write off could be bought for nothing and exported here for a good profit. Not a bad idea. "Bora diye malu banawa"

I hardly see buses on the Bus lane. Put good buses that you  can sit and travel in comfort that goes on schedule  I would be the first to keep the car at home.

Well....this is a bit confusing. There is a difference between not having a shaken and not being road worthy. There are really good and road worthy cars that have not had a shaken renewal because of the cost of the shaken inspection itself. So cars that have its shaken expired or about to expire have a lower price tag (usually about 200-300 yen less). Most Japanese sell their cars at 3 or 5 year age marks because that is when the shaken inspections are due...for an average sedan we are looking at about 120,000yen per inspection PLUS the cost of parts for mandatory replacement of components. 

A 2015 Allion/Premio with low mileage (say 20-30k km) would run anything between 650-900K yen with its shaken expired and if you buy it for local use we are adding about another 200,000yen on top of that for shaken renewal and registration. So not having the shaken is not the issue. The issue is like you said...these guys who are the most unethical creatures to roam the planet are going to buy the absolute junk which have high mileages, poor maintenance, crashed cars and then hawk them off as pristine examples from Japan. and even then...when a registered 2013 Allion is going for 5mil and your 2013 import from Japan is going to cost you just 4mil...you know these guys are going to sell them off at 5mil++. The existing owners themselves would go and massacre the car sales people if they price it lower than the local market value (hmm..might be a good thing)

Interestingly...you do not get old Allions and Premios in Japan. Since 2012 or so the Allion/Premio have been the lowest domestically sold car ever. So whatever Allion/Premios were sold since then..90% have already been shipped out of the country. If you look at most Japanese car sale websites, you only get about 50-100 cars for sale that are that old  So that is a blessing in disguise. Also, can be beneficial for enthusiasts...so now you can look in to importing some interesting JDM cars...tax might be ridiculous but at least the purchasing will be possible and the lower purchase cost might help a bit.

But yes...opening the 7 years old flood gate is too risky because of the car sale mafia. Perhaps this can be complemented with some sort of scrapping program for direct purchases/imports. You scrap your old, unroad worthy car you get a one time permit for importing a 7 year old used car from Japan or where ever (perhaps from the agent with a proper warranty ? i.e. now you get used cars from manufacturer certified used car stocks). The old car is scrapped and traded in for parts/metal (now you can actually start a proper vehicle scrapping business). I think the cold weather and green tea is getting in to my head.

[Skyonline]

Following the decision of temporarily suspending the importing of vehicles, the increasing prices of the second-hand vehicle market cannot be controlled by the Government, Transport State Minister Dilum Amunugama said.

"With the current situation, customers should act wisely. This temporary suspension is not permanent. This has to be imposed to stabilize the cash flow to some extend," the State Minister said.

"After imposing this temporary suspension, the value of the Rupee remains at a satisfactory level. This has occurred following the COVID-19 pandemic situation. As soon as the pandemic situation is brought under control, the suspension to import vehicles would be relaxed," Minister Amunugama added.

http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Govt-cant-control-second-hand-vehicle-market-Transport-State-Minister/108-196505

 

 

[Crosswind]

8 hours ago, Skyonline said:

Following the decision of temporarily suspending the importing of vehicles, the increasing prices of the second-hand vehicle market cannot be controlled by the Government, Transport State Minister Dilum Amunugama said.

 

Utter rubbish as usual. They can raid car sales to check vehicles on open papers and take legal action against the previous owner. They don't need any new laws for this. The existing law is more than enough. This will prevent people from selling cars on open papers, which will reduce the opportunities for baiyas. Eventually this will bring in a natural control to the second hand market, as it will reduce the artificially created bullish effect.

 

[iRage]

1 hour ago, Crosswind said:

Utter rubbish as usual. They can raid car sales to check vehicles on open papers and take legal action against the previous owner. They don't need any new laws for this. The existing law is more than enough. This will prevent people from selling cars on open papers, which will reduce the opportunities for baiyas. Eventually this will bring in a natural control to the second hand market, as it will reduce the artificially created bullish effect.

 

C'mon...these guys have to come up with some nice stories to justify 79 of the new ministers bringing down their SUVs and luxo sedans noh ?

[Kavvz]

Seriously disgusting situation...The common man has to avoid luxury goods, face import restrictions,  accept shortages of basic goods while these 'O/L qualified' buggers lord it up. 

What's next?  A pay increase for our poor hardworking ministers, suggested and approved / ratified by themselves like last time? ?