81% of September's New Registrations Were Bikes & Tuks, Not Cars — Why?

Sri Lanka's new vehicle registrations jumped 18.3% in September to 54,214 units, but two-wheelers (38,747) and three-wheelers (5,375) together made up just over 81% of that total. Motor cars came in at only 3,414 units, even though cars actually grew faster in percentage terms (up 30.9%) than two-wheelers did off a much bigger base. One side says this confirms ordinary households have been priced out of cars by the import surcharge and tighter financing, and are settling for a bike or a tuk just to keep moving. The other side says this isn't a tragedy at all — a motorcycle is simply the sensible, fuel-sipping choice for Sri Lankan roads and traffic, and the idea that every family "should" own a car was never realistic here in the first place. Did your own household move from a car plan to a bike or tuk in the last year or two, or did you hold out and buy the car anyway? Dealers and leasing folks — are you seeing the same shift on your sales floor? මෙවර අලුතෙන් ලියාපදිංචි වූ වාහන වලින් වැඩි හරියක් බයික් සහ ත්‍රීවිල් - ඔබේ පවුලේ තීරණය මොකක්ද වුනේ?