New models that Kia will assemble in Aymesa, in 2025 and 2026, will also go to Colombia and Venezuela | Economy

New models that Kia will assemble in Aymesa, in 2025 and 2026, will also go to Colombia and Venezuela | Economy | News

Vehicles assembled in Ecuador maintain a 14.7% share of the market and sales – like general vehicle figures – have fallen by 18% so far in 2024 and by 24% in May, according to figures from the Chamber of the Ecuadorian Automotive Industry (Cinae). From January to May, 9,739 fewer vehicles were sold (48,119 units, -16.83%) and in the case of assembled vehicles there were 1,541 fewer.

The situation is not comfortable for importers or for the assembly industry, which at the end of August will lose its largest player, General Motors (Chevrolet), which currently occupies 51% of the share of vehicles assembled by brands and has announced the cessation of operations of its plant in Quito, GM OBB. Given the situation, strategies are moving that include the brand that has 21.9% of the assembly market and that will reinforce this line in the country.

How is the automotive industry preparing to face General Motors’ assembly cessation?

The Aymesa assembler, also located in Quito, announced together with the South Korean brand Kia an investment plan of $62 million until 2026 to increase the production of assembled vehicles and add more models to the assembly lines. Since 1970 Aymesa has produced 25 different vehicle models, from seven world-class producers. Starting in 2001, Aymesa and Kia concluded a commercial agreement for the production of automobiles such as the Soluto, Seltos, Sonet, etc. models.

According to the latest Cinae report, after GM OBB (51%), Kia occupies second place in the share of vehicles assembled by brands with 21.9%, followed by Great Wall, Shineray and KYC with 19. 9%, these Chinese brands are assembled at the Ciauto plant in Ambato; and finally Hyundai is with 6.6%, which, like Kia, is assembled in Aymesa.

Meanwhile, Luis Romano, general manager of Aymesa, details that the objective of the announced investment is to generate productive chains and promote the national production of auto parts and vehicles with an estimated production of more than 22,000 units, 750 jobs and assembly of five new models up to 2026.

He explains that the $62 million are divided into investments in process and projected investments: in the investments in process, $6 million were allocated for buildings, $7 million for common equipment and another $7 million for current models, while the production line went the most, $17 million.

Aymesa currently assembles four models: the Kia brand Sonet with an annual production of 2,700 units, the new Sonet with a production of 300 annually and which is also exported to Colombia. While from the Hyundai brand, the Creta model is assembled with 1,325 units per year and the HD 36 truck with 30 units per year.

Meanwhile, within the projected investments, an estimated $800,000 is estimated for updating models, $2 million to optimize installed capacity, $8 million for the launch of new models and finally $15 million for a new painting plan.

These new models will enter the production plan for 2025 and 2026, indicates Romano. This plan includes the new Kia models: Carens with an estimated annual production of 1,200 units in 2025 and 2,800 by 2026, the K3 Cross of which it is projected to produce 1,000 units next year and 3,000 by 2026, the TK (Tasman) ), which would be the first truck model of the South Korean brand to enter the national market. Aymesa plans to produce 6,000 units of this truck in 2026.

Kia and Aymesa announce investment of $62 million to assemble five new vehicle models in Ecuador until 2026

Finally there is the Hyundai Accent model, of which 2,400 units are planned to be produced by 2026.

These are the new models that will be assembled at Aymesa:

Brands	Model	Units in 2025 and 2026
kia	Carens	3,600
kia	K3 Cross	4,000
kia	TK (Tasman)	6,000
hyundai	accent	2,400

While the models that are already assembled in the country will grow in production. For example, for the Sonet, a production of 8,400 units is projected in 2025 and a similar volume for 2026. And for the Creta, it is estimated to produce 4,800 units between those two years.

In total, according to the general manager of Aymesa, production of 11,000 units is expected in 2025 and 22,000 by 2026.

This plan also includes the export of these vehicles especially to Colombia and Venezuela depending on the needs of the national and international market. This is the case of the Kia Sonet and Carens models that will be imported to those countries, while the TK truck will go only to Venezuela.

Where are the models that will be produced in Ecuador assembled?

Romano reveals that the Kia Carens is currently produced in India, the K3 Cross is assembled in Mexico and the TK is planned to be assembled in Korea. For the Sonet model, which is currently produced in Ecuador, a facelift (model update), which is currently produced in India and China.

Meanwhile, in what has to do with auto parts, it indicates that investment has an important weight when it comes to the development of that segment, which will allow attracting greater investment, generating productive chains, promoting young employment, among others.

Hyundai announces investment of $15 million to manufacture 2,500 units of its Creta model in Ecuador

“The main strategy will be to improve competitiveness through a cost analysis and the establishment of a target price policy. An analysis of the auto parts that are already produced nationally has been carried out and there is a proposal for the new components that are planned to be produced locally,” indicates the executive.

Currently, the vehicles assembled by Aymesa include 17 auto parts from local suppliers: