The Colombian automotive industry in figures

September 4, 2023

The automotive industry is going through a period of significant changes and considerable challenges. This is shown by DANE statistics and data provided by the guild on the present and future of the sector.

automotive industry, Cars, Vehicles, Más Colombia

The automotive industry in Colombia has undergone remarkable changes in recent years, and DANE statistics reflect its evolution. In 2012, the “manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers; manufacture of other transport equipment” accounted for a solid 2.86% of manufacturing GDP and 0.38% of total GDP. However, in 2022, these numbers decreased to 2% and 0.25%, respectively.

If we add vehicle trade and repair activities, this industry remains an important pillar of the Colombian economy, contributing 1.7% of GDP and generating 45 thousand direct jobs and 330 thousand indirect jobs.

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For the Colombian Association of Auto Parts Manufacturers (Acolfa), the deterioration in domestic vehicle production is due to the increase in imports of finished vehicles. While domestically assembled cars covered 50% of the market a decade ago, today they represent less than 25%.

Vehicle imports compete with the local automotive industry

According to DANE figures, between 2002 and 2022 Colombia accumulated imports of more than USD $80 billion in motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, while exports accumulated revenues of USD $11 billion.

As a result of these trade exchanges, the balance of trade deficit in the automotive industry averaged USD $3.5 billion per year over the last two decades.

In two decades, the country went from buying 144 thousand tons of vehicles and their parts, worth more than USD $942 million in 2002, to 648 thousand tons worth USD $6.3 billion in 2022.

In recent years, the international context has been marked by the post-pandemic recovery and the war in Ukraine, which has increased the cost of vehicles and their maintenance. The value of the imported ton, in the tariff group “Manufacture of motor vehicles and their engines”, went from USD $10,029 in 2019 to USD $10,450 in 2022.

The market has changed and this is evidenced by Colombian vehicle imports. Although most of these imports came from Japan, Mexico and South Korea, in the first decade of this century new international players managed to take a leading role.

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Brazil, China, the United States and Argentina have emerged as important competitors in Colombian vehicle imports. In 2022, 75% of the vehicles arriving in Colombia came from Brazil (23%), Mexico (15%), China (15%), Argentina (8%), Japan (7%) and the United States (7%).

Exports by the Colombian automotive industry

DANE figures reveal that Colombian automotive industry sales abroad have not picked up since the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2022, Colombian exports of motor vehicles and their engines fell by 44%, going from USD $577.2 million to USD $322.7 million. This represented, in terms of quantities, a drop of 46.7%, from 65,850 tons sold in 2019 to 35,130 tons in 2022.

The international vehicle market has shrunk for Colombia. In the last decade, our country’s sales were concentrated in the Ecuadorian market, which went from representing 38.6% of sales, in 2012, to representing 61.4% in 2022.

After Ecuador, the country’s main markets are at the regional level. Between 2021 and 2022, Mexico (15.7%), Argentina (4.6%), the United States (3.2%), Peru (3%), Bolivia (2%) and Chile (1.7%) accounted for 30.2% of the country’s sales of motor vehicles and their engines.

Vehicle assembly

Although vehicle sales in Colombia have grown in recent years, fewer and fewer vehicles are being assembled in the country. According to Acolfa, in 2021 Colombia produced more than 62,000 vehicles, a figure that has been declining since 2011, when around 154,000 units were manufactured.

In 2021, three assembly plants led this production: Renault Sofasa, with almost 40,000 vehicles; Colmotores (Chevrolet), with 17,000, and Hino with around 5,000. However, in 2022, Renault-Sofasa achieved a 25% increase in assembled units, while Colmotores experienced a 21.8% reduction.

The automotive parts manufacturing sector faces challenges due to low production volumes. However, auto parts exports grew 24% in 2022 and this sector is expected to remain an employment generator in Colombia.

Vehicle manufacturing in Colombia is ruled out due to its small market and because its neighbors are already sourcing from other countries. While Brazil sold 2,105,000 new cars in 2022, Mexico 1,095,000 and Argentina 537,000, in Colombia sales barely reached 263,000 units. This is why vehicle assembly is mostly made with imported parts and covers only 25% of the domestic market.