With Sri Lankan finance minister Ravi Karunanayake announcing in his 2017 budget speech, that his government will encourage use of electric cars over three-wheelers by reducing excise duty and giving an interest rate subsidy on loans, the export of autorickshaws from India is likely to decline. Claim industry sources that Karunanayake, in his speech, has mentioned the levying of carbon tax on vehicles other than electric cars and tractors. This would also include the existing emission test fee. He is also known to have termed the nearly 1.3 million three-wheelers operating on Sri Lankan roads as vulnerable to accidents. Electric cars, according to Karunayake, will improve safety of the drivers as well as passengers. As an initial step, said Karunanayake, the Sri Lankan government will within the Colombo district, extend its support by introducing a loan scheme to purchase 1,000 electric cars, through the banks, where the government will bear 50 per cent of the interest cost. The three wheeler market in Sri Lanka is dominated by Bajaj Auto products.