Cabinet has approved a plan to supply 400 electric cars and an unspecified number of electric motorcycles to Sri Lanka Police, Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala announced on Tuesday.
The 400 electric cars will be provided to officers ranging from Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) to Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) on a lease basis from a private company, NewsFirst reported. Rs. 86 million has been proposed for the lease arrangement.
Cabinet also approved electric motorcycles for officers from constable up to police inspector rank. Wijepala said the motorcycles will be provided free of customs duties, and that steps will be taken to offer loan facilities through a dedicated fund so officers can purchase them.
The decision marks a significant shift in police fleet management, replacing or supplementing internal-combustion vehicles in everyday operational use. Lease arrangements for senior-officer cars and duty-waived motorcycles for the rank-and-file are designed to spread the procurement cost across budget lines and individual officer credit.
Sri Lanka has been pushing electric-vehicle adoption across the public sector, alongside a digital motor insurance card from May 1 and continued growth in private vehicle imports since the lifting of the import ban. The police EV decision is one of the largest single state-fleet electrification announcements to date.
The minister did not disclose timelines for vehicle delivery or the name of the lease counterparty.
