Alliance Finance Company (AFC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lanka E-Mobility Solutions (LeMS) to make converting petrol three-wheelers to electric power cheaper to start, by financing the conversion and renting out the battery rather than selling it.
Hiru News reported the agreement on Friday.
The two costs, split between two companies
Under the partnership, AFC provides concessionary leasing to owners who want to convert, while LeMS carries out the conversion and supplies the battery on a rental basis.
LeMS replaces the conventional engine in an existing petrol three-wheeler with an electric drive system. Under its battery rental model the customer pays the conversion cost up front, but takes the battery on rent for an agreed term instead of buying it outright. That term is typically between three and five years, subject to the applicable conditions and warranty.
The structure is aimed squarely at the two barriers the companies identify: the initial outlay for the conversion itself, and the separate cost of the battery. Splitting them means neither has to be met as a single lump sum.
The savings claim
LeMS estimates owners could save up to Rs 40,000 a month through reduced fuel and maintenance costs.
That figure is the company’s own estimate and it is explicitly conditional. LeMS states it depends on the distance driven each day, operating conditions, and the particular conversion and battery rental costs that apply. It is a ceiling under favourable conditions, not a typical result, and no worked example or average is given.
Why three-wheelers
For many Sri Lankan three-wheeler owners the vehicle is not merely transport but their main livelihood. With fuel and maintenance costs pressing on daily earnings, the companies argue a shift to electric running lets drivers cut costs and keep working.
Romani de Silva, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Alliance Finance, said the company’s aim was to make a real difference to people’s daily lives through sustainable financing. He said the partnership went beyond providing vehicle finance and contributed directly to AFC’s strategic objective of promoting sustainable transport, adding that converting petrol three-wheelers would help reduce carbon emissions from the transport sector.
Natasha Silva, a Director of Lanka E-Mobility Solutions (Pvt) Ltd, said that because the vehicle is a livelihood for most owners, the company’s goal was to make the switch to electric a practical and easily reachable option. She said combining the company’s conversion technology and battery solutions with AFC’s financing expertise and island-wide branch network would let more Sri Lankans access electric transport.
AFC is described in the filing as Sri Lanka’s oldest non-bank financial institution.
Not reported
The announcement gives no price for the conversion, no monthly battery rental figure, and no interest rate or term for the leasing facility — so the Rs 40,000 saving cannot be weighed against what the scheme costs. It does not say how many conversions the partners expect to carry out, where conversions will be performed, how many AFC branches will offer the facility, or when it opens to customers.
It gives no battery range, charging time or warranty terms, and does not say what happens at the end of a rental term, or who bears the cost if a rented battery fails or degrades. Nothing is said about whether converted vehicles need re-registration or Department of Motor Traffic approval.
This is a single-source corporate announcement. A search of the other verified newsrooms found no independent report of this agreement. The results returned were an earlier, separate LeMS initiative on battery swapping for three-wheelers — a different model from the battery rental described here — and unrelated Alliance Finance announcements. This desk has not verified the claims independently of the companies.