Colombia & Ecuador Production by Brand : 2014

Renault Sofasa assembly line in Colombia

They assemble vehicles in Colombia, in case you were asking the question. Virtually all the Renault cars are really Dacia models, and many are exported. The drop in Mazda production signals the end of assembly in the country. With Colombia making trade deals with many countries, the challenge is whether it is viable to make cars there. Time will tell.

10	11	12	13	14	Model	2014	Share	+ / -
2	2	1	1	1	Renault	68,453	51%	-8%
1	1	1	2	2	Chevrolet	55,966	42%	31%
4	4	4	4	3	Hino	5,742	4%	46%
3	3	3	3	4	Mazda	4,319	3%	-41%
					Total	134,480		5%

Data source: ANDINA.

Head south and you are in Ecuador. The assembly lines were not quite as busy as they had been in 2013, as the economy is doing it tough at the moment. Import restrictions have been recently applied to encourage the local car assembly industry.

13	14	Model	2014	Share	+ / -
1	1	Chevrolet	23,557	37%	-6%
3	2	Isuzu	13,571	22%	32%
2	3	Kia	10,395	16%	-26%
4	4	Suzuki	9,600	15%	4%
5	5	Mazda	5,990	9%	-20%
		Total	63,113		-6%

Data source: AEADE.

Summary: To make cars competitively today, volume is essential. Unless a market is huge, a nation cannot make vehicles just for itself and be cost effective. It is apparent that is why Mazda is opting out of Colombia. The amount of cars made in Ecuador isn't great enough and only protection will keep car assembly going.