BYD Leads New-Car Sales in Sri Lanka, Beating Toyota and Suzuki — Deserved or Just Cheap EVs?

BYD has pulled ahead of Toyota, Suzuki and every other brand to become Sri Lanka's top-selling new vehicle nameplate, driven almost entirely by its EV range. Reports since import restrictions eased put BYD at around 37% of all brand-new vehicle registrations and over 70% of new EV registrations in that period. Fans say it's simple: more car, more tech, and lower running costs than a similarly priced Japanese badge, backed by one of the world's biggest EV makers. Skeptics point to thin resale data, a servicing network that's barely built out beyond Colombo, and a Sri Lankan track record of about two years — compare that to decades of Corolla and Alto parts sitting in every junction shop. Toyota and Suzuki still dominate the used market by a mile, and that's unlikely to change soon regardless of new-sales rankings. Does BYD's lead actually change what you'd buy today, or is this just EV permits and showroom financing doing the work? If you've bought or driven one, how has it actually held up — charging access, service costs, resale enquiries? ඔයාලා අද අලුත් කාරයක් ගන්නවා නම්, BYD එකක්ද නැත්නම් Japan brand එකක්ද තෝරගන්නේ?