A total of 3,096 vehicles have been locally manufactured since the initiative introduced to locally assemble vehicles in Sri Lanka, Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa informed Parliament.
He further said that the vehicles were manufactured in the last six months in line with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for local assembly of vehicles and automotive component manufacturing to encourage world renowned brands to locally assemble vehicles.
The SOP was was launched earlier this year, under the aegis of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka decided to promote locally assembling vehicles after a temporary ban was imposed on the importation of vehicles due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Minister Weerawansa further said that initially only three companies had registered, but currently 10 companies are registered and are working on taking forward the initiative.
He also pointed out that Sri Lanka will be able to save over Rs. 300 billion annually that is usually spent on the importation of vehicles and automotive spare parts.