167,000 cars through Hambantota Port — so why did August registrations hit a 9-month low?

Hambantota Port just crossed 167,000 vehicles processed since imports properly reopened, and officials are pointing to it as proof the market has recovered. But new vehicle registrations in August fell nearly 14% from July to just 45,569 — the lowest monthly total since November last year — with dealers blaming the 60% down payment now required on new personal vehicles since May, plus the 50% import surcharge running to December 31. So which number tells the real story? Port throughput makes it look like the crisis is over and vehicles are flooding back in. Registration numbers make it look like fewer ordinary buyers can actually afford to drive one away. It's possible both are true at once — importers who ordered early are sitting on stock that buyers now can't finance. Are the containers piling up at Hambantota actually reaching driveways, or are they stuck in importer yards while leasing gets harder? If you shopped for a car this year, did the down payment rule or the surcharge kill your deal, or did you still manage to drive one home? වෙළඳපොළට රථ ගොඩක් එනවා කියනවා, ඒත් මිලදී ගන්න සල්ලි නෑ කියලත් කියනවා — ඇත්ත මොකක්ද?