$3.8bn on vehicles since the import ban lifted — money well spent, or dollars we can't spare?

Parliament heard this month that Sri Lanka has imported over 800,000 vehicles worth about $3.8 billion since the 2024 import ban was lifted, according to Deputy Minister Nishantha Jayaweera. Most of that is two-wheelers (317,000 bikes this year alone) and three-wheelers (40,000), with only around 79,000 actual cars landing in 2026. The government says reserves are still a healthy $6.9 billion, so officials argue there's room to breathe. One side: this is dollars we fought a debt crisis to protect, going straight into depreciating assets instead of productive investment — every bike and car is forex that doesn't come back. The other side: people were starved of vehicles for years, LC values have actually eased from $1.9bn to $1.69bn as the market normalizes, and a functioning import market beats a grey market charging triple the price. Do you think this spending level is sustainable, or are we setting up for another reserve squeeze? And if 317,000 of those "vehicles" are two-wheelers, is this really a car story at all? රටේ ඩොලර් සංචිත හොඳින් තියෙද්දිත් මෙච්චර වාහන ආනයනය කරන එක නිවැරදිද?