The Ceylon Motor Trader’s Association (CMTA) affiliated to the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and one of the oldest automotive trade associations in South Asia comprising of companies who are franchise holders of global automobile manufacturers, held its 102^nd Annual General Meeting on 29^th June 2022 as a virtual event, due to the mobility issues resulting from the current fuel shortage in the country.

Mr. Charaka Perera, Director/COO, Stafford Motor Co (Pvt) Ltd was elected as the Chairman, while Mr. Virann De Zoysa – General Manager, Associated Motorways (Pvt) Ltd was elected as Senior Vice Chairman and Mr. Andrew Perera – Managing Director, Kia Motors Lanka Ltd, was elected as Vice Chairman. Mr. Yasendra Amerasinghe, Director/CEO of Carmart (Pvt) Ltd is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Association.

The following were elected to the Executive Committee for the year 2022/2023; Mr. Bri Ponnambalam – Director, McLarens Lubricants (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Reeza Rauf – Director Sales & Marketing, Senok Trade Combine Pvt Ltd, Mr. Manohara Atukorala – Managing Director/CEO, Toyota Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Gihan Pilapitiya – General Manager, United Motors Lanka PLC., Mr. Sirhan Fernando – Head of Sales and Marketing of Drive One (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Rajeev Aloysius – Joint Managing Director, The Autodrome PLC, Mr. Ravi Perera – CEO of Access Motors (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Priyantha Perera – Executive Director, Sathosa Motors PLC, Mr. Lakmal De Silva – Deputy General Manager of David Pieris Motor Co Ltd, Mr. Tharanga Goonewardena – General Manager, Diesel & Motor Engineering Co PLC and Mr. Teranka Carim – CEO – Automobiles, IWS Holdings (Pvt) Ltd.  The Secretariat of the CMTA is the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce represented by Mr. Rohan Casie-Chetty – Assistant Secretary General of CCC.

Addressing the members in his outgoing speech, Mr. Yasendra Amerasinghe stated that despite of the grave challenges that the CMTA members had faced over the past two years great strides have been set in building a solid foundation for the future of the Association.

The CMTA, with over 100-years of heritage, is the official trade body of Sri Lanka’s automotive industry and has been the driving force behind the industry for years. The CMTA has been at the forefront of sustainable growth of Sri Lanka’s motor industry, which has contributed greatly to the country’s economy and created a platform for employment both locally and abroad. The member companies of CMTA together had created around 30,000 direct and indirect jobs within their companies and its 6,000 plus dealer network, which are SME’s established across the country. The motor trade contributed over Rs.130Bn to the treasury in excise duty alone in 2019, which accounted for over 6.8% of government revenue.

The new Chairman and Committee have been appointed during the most challenging time for the entire motor industry, as the restriction on imports still continues and the importation of spare parts also has also been hampered due to the forex crisis, which is a looming threat to the entire transportation system in the country.

In his address to the members, Mr. Charaka Perera, quoted “Although the motor industry and our whole country is facing its worst crisis in its recent history, I strongly believe that this would be the ideal time to strengthen the basics and gear ourselves to be ready for the post recovery period. As the Chairman of the CMTA, I promise that I will do everything in my capacity to uplift and guide the motor trade through the current crisis”. Unquote.