Investment bank First Capital’s research on the ride-hailing company PickMe, published in March 2026, finds that booking a Suzuki Wagon R is cheaper than renting or leasing the same car. Their analysis models suburban residents living 20km from their downtown Colombo workplaces who commute 1,000km a month over 25 working days. The Suzuki Wagon R, a small hatchback, covers rent or lease, fuel, servicing, maintenance, and parking. Insurance was excluded, the report notes, “as the insurance costs vary depending on the type of vehicle.”
Renting a Wagon R costs Rs150,000 monthly, or Rs150 per kilometre. Fuel, at Rs294 a litre with 20km to the litre, adds Rs15 per kilometre. Servicing at 5,000km mileage intervals is Rs25,000, plus parking at Rs70 an hour for nine hours a day across 25 working days, adds Rs8 per kilometre travelled. Together, that’s Rs173 per kilometre in costs. Dilhari Dias, an analyst at First Capital, says fuel costs assume the use of 92-octane petrol at prices before the US and Israeli war with Iran, which led to 35% price increase to Rs 398 a litre.
The alternative is to lease a Wagon R instead of renting it. Lease costs are estimated at Rs102,310 a month, or Rs102 per kilometre, based on 70% of a Rs6 million Wagon R financed over five years at 12% interest. Fuel, at Rs294 a litre with 20km to the litre, adds Rs15. Servicing and parking costs are the same as renting a car, adding Rs8 per kilometre. The total: Rs125 per kilometre.
On ride-hailing apps, a Wagon R is Rs 100 per kilometre. “A survey by First Capital found that the Wagon R is the most frequent vehicle on PickMe’s Flex option,” says Dias. “With fuel at Rs398 a litre, ride-hailing cost per kilometre for a Wagon R rises by 15-20%, making it ~Rs115-120, leasing to ~Rs130, and renting to ~Rs178,” she says. PickMe is still the more affordable option.
As of April 18th 2026, the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial vessels following a ceasefire, though the situation remains fragile.