Ecuador, one of the smallest South American markets for motor vehicles, virtually stood still in terms of registrations in 2023 v 2022 with an increase of just 0.2%

These are highly specialist vehicles, which are to be 'converted' and equipped by Ecuadorian body builder, Iturri SA.

Called Ruta Elétrica Andina the project proposes construction of battery charging stations along the Andean highway at intervals of every 200 km – initially the project is to run from Cartagena in northern Colombia to Ipiales, on the border with Ecuador.

Ecuador completed the first nine months of this year with registrations of 8,219 heavy commercial vehicles, a decrease of 4.2% compared with 8,581 vehicles sold in the same period of 2022.

According to AEADE of Quito, 8,167 units were sold in the first half of 2023, surpassing the 7,413 vehicles registered in the same period last year.

The Ecuadorian commercial vehicle market showed its  best performance in the last seven years in the first quarter of 2022 with sales of 2,853 units.

A national survey of 449 fleet operating companies conducted by the Ecuadorian magazine, Buen Viaje, specialized in tourism and bus operations, which represents 56.5% of the total of 709 dedicated to passenger transportation, revealed that the vast majority of buses in use in the country has bodies produced by domestic manufacturers.

Teojama Comercial S.A., the main distributor of the Hino truck and bus brand in Ecuador, has delivered a new bus fleet of 53 Hino AK 8JRSA buses to Ecuadorian public transport cooperatives, Tomebamba and Turismo Baños, in the city of Cuenca.

Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus has sold and shipped 52 Volksbus buses with the new Neobus New Mega body to the public transportation operator in Cuenca; the county’s third largest city.

Operator, Compañía de Transporte Saucinc SA, in March 2019 is to start transporting passengers using electric buses bought from the Chinese company, BYD Inc.