Come May Sri Lanka will be proud to have its first home-made family car to be rolled out by Ideal Motors.
The four-wheel electric car for four, with a hybrid option, will be rolled out from the Ratmalana plant of the Ideal Group after the festive season in April.
The fully indigenous product will dispel the price fear and is made to suit the wallet of the average wage-earner who will have the first experience of local skills and expertise in the automotive industry.
 The Bolero City Pick Up
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“It’s all set and Moksha will come on line along with the New year,” said Ideal Group Founder and Executive Chairman Nalin Welgama who has been harping on the country’s immense talent to graduate from an importer to an exporter of automotives. Automobile fans who have been longing to see this day after the first attempt of UMC Mazda and Upali Fiat in the 1970s by the entrepreneur and business magnate Upali Wijewardene.
The native product is a collaboration between ideal Motors and India’s automobile behemoth Mahindra and Mahindra.
Sri Lanka has great talent which should be harnessed to tap the enormous Indian market for automotives and other products. The close proximity and cultural ties between the two countries provides a distinct advantage for each other to boost trade, Welgama said, adding that getting the credentials right with the proper eco-system and a vibrant FTA are what is needed to venture out to the vast market next door. Moves to facilitate payments in Indian currency which is currently under discussion will be an impetus to boost trade with the neighbour.
Trade Ministry Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Daya Ratnayake said the government is working on the proposed arrangement. Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. and Ideal Motors, the sole authorised distributor of the Mahindra range of vehicles rolled out the Bolero City Pick Up for the local market in Colombo last week.
The Bolero is the first Mahindra single cab pick-up to be assembled at Mahindra Ideal automotive assembly plant at Welipenna.
The Bolero city pick up has been designed for urban and rural applications.
M&M Ltd CEO Veejay Nakra said Sri Lanka has been a strategic market for Mahindra and is among the top five top markets the company has invested to expand its automotive segment.
Mahindra and Ideal targets 5,000 units of the Bolero City pick up and the KUV 100 launched in 2020.
“We have been scaling up our local presence by expanding the product range through the ‘Make in Sri Lanka’ initiative,” he said.