Cucalon: “Low car sales accelerated unemployment.”

Jaime Cucalon, president of the Automotive Ecuadorian Association (AEA), said they estimate that they will have sold about 60,000 units at the end of 2016 , representing half of what the market acquired in 2012.

“The economic situation of the country and the quotas have undermined the automotive business in an adamant way,” he said.

But the drop in sales is not only in the domestic market but also in exports. According to the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), Ecuador’s international sales fell by 77.4% in the first half of this year compared to 2015.

Cucalon added that the effect would be seen in the corporate income and thus in the low employment rate, which is directly dependent on sales. He recalled that years ago the market acquired from 120,000 to 140,000 units of cars per year. He even doubts that purchases can revive in 2017, without important decisions taken by the new president, like analyzing why Ecuadorian cars are the most expensive in the region and act upon it.

In the country, the most economical car costs about $ 15,000, compared to neighboring countries, where the cost is $ 10,000. Another example, “and that should be analyzed” is that a car that costs $ 40,000 in Ecuador, in other countries cost $ 18,000, he said.