Byron Viteri (59 years old) has just bought his second Chinese car. He assures that the main factor for which he opted for a car of this type was the price: “You save 30% of the value, compared to other cars with the same characteristics.” He says that three years ago he bought a Chinese sedan that was very good and priced at $14,900, when a similar one from another brand would have cost $18,000.
Now he has just bought an SUV with his accumulated severance fund, because he wanted to have a “taller” car to be able to travel. So he bought a Chinese SUV that cost $17,900, but a car with similar characteristics would have cost $25,000. “That’s $7,000 less.”
He explains that he likes the design, considers it to be of good quality and that it has state-of-the-art technology. It ensures that the maintenance service is cheaper. Additionally, he considers that there is confidence in leaving it on the street, since criminals have not heard of an appetite for this type of car. Like Byron, many other Ecuadorian consumers show their greatest predilection for Chinese cars.
The latest figures published by the automotive sector unions confirm this. According to data from the Chamber of the Automotive Industry of Ecuador (Cinae), the sale of Chinese vehicles has grown exponentially in 2022 compared to 2018. While in the first quarter of 2018 3,221 units were sold, which represented in that moment a market share of 9.9%; by 2022, the number reached 11,490 units sold in the same period, while the percentage of the market reached 38.5%.
The escalation from 2021 – the year in which 7,360 Chinese cars were sold – to 2022 – in which placement reached 11,490 units – is more than 50%.
According to David Molina, executive director of Cinae, there are two key factors that have achieved the significant penetration of Chinese cars in the Ecuadorian market. The first is the price and the second that Ecuadorians managed to break the barrier of fear about the quality of Chinese cars.
He explains that in terms of price, the issue is complex for the competition, since most Chinese assemblers are state-owned and hide a series of subsidies that allow them to have these low prices. The other issue is that the barrier of fear of Chinese quality has been overcome. He indicates that the good management of the brand by the assembly company Ciauto (which assembles Chinese cars in Ecuador), especially the Great Wall brand, had a lot to do with this change. Marketing at the national level was done with good strategies and guarantees, which generated more confidence. That was a first step and then the other Chinese brands also benefited from this opening.
Molina insists once again that in the face of these circumstances, the Government should think twice before promoting a trade agreement with China when there are no equal conditions to compete.
According to ranking managed by Cinae, among the 20 best-selling models in the country, eight come from China, although two of them: Captiva and Soluto, are brands associated with other countries. In any case, seven of the eight best-selling Chinese models are jeep and only one, car.
in said ranking (from January to March 2022), in the first place of the preferences is the Beat Premier, a Chevrolet car made in Colombia. In second place is the Jeep Captiva LTZ (Chevrolet), but that is a jeep made in China. Third place is occupied by Beat IS AC 1.2, which is also Colombian. They are followed in fourth and fifth places by the SWM G01 and the Glory, also jeep. In eighth, ninth and tenth places are Tiggo 2 AC, Soluto (Kia brand car made in China) and X70 II AC. In positions 16 and 20 are the Captiva Premier Turbo, and the Tiggo 2 Pro. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
