AMW Says Only 30% of Car Sales Go Through Authorised Agents — Does That Matter to You?

AMW's Group MD told the press this month that authorised distributors only account for roughly 30% of Sri Lanka's vehicle market, with the other 70% moving through other channels — private imports, independent resellers, and informal deals. He argued this scares off global manufacturers from committing fully to Sri Lanka, since they can't trust the "real" market size they're selling into. Agent-side argument: buy through the authorised dealer and you get a real warranty, genuine parts pipeline, and someone to chase if things go wrong — without that, manufacturers under-invest and everyone loses long-term support. Buyer-side argument: most people go around the agent because the same model costs lakhs less from an independent importer or private seller, and plenty of buyers have never needed the agent's warranty to begin with. When you bought your last vehicle, did you even consider the authorised agent, or was the price gap too big to think twice? If you skipped the agent, did you regret it later when something broke? ඔයාගේ ගේඩියේ වෑන් එක ගත්තේ ඒජන්සිකරුවගෙන්ද, නැත්නම් වෙන කෙනෙකුගෙන්ද?