EV Scooters Get Duty Cuts Yet Are Still Under 10% of Bike Sales — Why the Resistance?

Sri Lanka has cut import duty on electric two-wheelers, and new models like the Bajaj Chetak and Yadea T9 are sitting in showrooms. But 2026 sales data shows electric bikes and scooters still make up only around one in ten new two-wheeler sales, while petrol bike sales are recovering far faster than electric ones. For a lot of riders, a pricier electric scooter with uncertain resale value and a battery nobody local can service beats nothing — a Rs 150cc petrol Pulsar or Wave is something every roadside mechanic in the country already understands, and you're never stuck looking for a charger on a long ride. Others say that's short-term thinking: fuel savings and near-zero maintenance pay back the price gap within two or three years, home charging overnight is less hassle than people assume, and a few three-wheeler owners who've already switched say the math clearly works for short town runs. So would you put your own money into an electric bike today, or wait a few more years for batteries, resale value and service networks to mature? What actually stopped you, or convinced you? මිල අඩු වුණත් ඇයි කට්ටිය තාම පෙට්‍රල් බයිසිකලෙන්ම ඉන්නේ?