Colombian new car sales rose 35.3% year on year in the first quarter of 2006, statistics firm Econometria said.
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This (40,884 units vs 30,338) is due to a strong economy which achieved GNP of 5.3% last year, according to national’s statistics agency DANE.
Nonetheless, March sales slowed 2%, due to the start of the presidential campaign in Colombia which made buyers nervous.
Chevrolet is (still) leading the market with 15,433 vehicles sold year to date and 37.7% of market share. Renault has 17.8% (7,286 sales), Hyundai 11.3% (4,639), Mazda 5.0% (2,064) and Toyota 4.4% (1,780).
Last month Renault re-entered the taxis segment, which it abandoned some years ago, with the yellow Citius model, based on the (old shape) Clio four-door sedan with 1.4 litre and 16 valve engine.
Nowadays, this odd-looking sedan looks old-fashioned in a market led by the Hyundai Atos and Daewoo-based Chevrolet Spark ‘monospace’ [i.e. hatchback] microcabs.
March also saw the launch of a special edition Subaru Impreza sedan with 110hp 1.6 litre engine.
And, after 20 years as president of the local Mazda assembler, Professor José Fernando Isaza quit to head Bogotá University.
Juan Vargas
