Automóviles y Máquinas del Ecuador S.A., known by the syllabic abbreviation AYMESA, is an automotive assembler based in

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, which since 1970 is dedicated to the assembly, assembly and construction of automobiles, being a pioneer in the Ecuadorian market. When car manufacturing in Ecuador had its origins in the late sixties and early seventies, a time when the foundations of the Ecuadorian automotive industry were laid, the AYMESA plant produced one of the first locally designed vehicles the Andino, exporting 1000 units and making history within the incipient Ecuadorian industry.

History

Aymesa was founded in

in 1970. In cooperation with

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

, the production of automobiles and commercial vehicles began in 1973. Until 1984, passenger cars were marketed under their own brand name Aymesa.Eligiusz Mazur: ''2005 · 2006. One of the largest car directories in the world. World of Cars. Worldwide catalogue. Encyclopedia of today's car industry.''
online
; englisch) Other sources cite the period 1972 to the 1980sd'Auto zu Aymesa
(niederländisch, retrieved 20 November 2016) or from 1980 to 1989Allcarindex
(englisch, retrieved 20 November 2016) for this brand name. The brand name became

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

in 1984. Deviating from this, a model was marketed in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

as Sanremo in the 1970s.d'Auto zu Sanremo
(niederländisch, retrieved 20 November 2016) Since 1999, there has also been an agreement with

Kia Kia Corporation (, formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工業) and Kia Motors Corporation) is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second larges ...

Motors for vehicle production. In addition,

Lada LadaAccording to various sources, the name Lada is derived from a Russian word for Viking longships (). (, , marketed as LADAFrom 2004 onwards Lada is marketed worldwide, including in Russia, using the all-capitals brand name written in Latin sc ...

vehicles were assembled from 2000 to 2004.

Models

The Andino was a pickup truck based on a Bedford model. The four-cylinder engine with OHV valve control had a displacement of 1300 cm³. One source gives the construction period from 1973 to 1977, another from 1972 to 1970s.d'Auto zu Andino
(niederländisch, retrieved 20 November 2016) The Condór was a coupe that largely corresponded to the

Opel Kadett The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel from 1936 until 1940 and then from 1962 until 1991 (the Cabrio continued until 1993), when it was succeeded by the Opel Astra. Originally, the Kadett was ...

C. The body was made of fiberglass. The gala was also a coupe. It had elongated rear side windows. Various models from

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...

and

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

followed from 1981. Specifically named are

Suzuki Vitara The Suzuki Vitara is a series of Sport utility vehicle, SUVs produced by Suzuki in five generations since 1988. The second and third generation were known as the Suzuki Grand Vitara, while the fourth generation eschewed the "Grand" prefix. In ...

from 1990, Suzuki Forsa from 1991 to 2004, Suzuki Esteem from 1996 to 2002,

Isuzu Rodeo The Isuzu Rodeo is an automotive nameplate that was used by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Isuzu between 1988 and 2004. Isuzu has utilized the "Rodeo" name on two different vehicles—a compact pickup truck sold in Japan, and a midsize SUV ...

from 1996 to 2004,

Opel Corsa The Opel Corsa is a supermini car manufactured and marketed by Opel since 1982 — as well as other brands, namely Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall, Chevrolet, and Holden. At its height of popularity, the Corsa became the best-selling car in the ...

from 2002 to 2012 and

Chevrolet Spark The Chevrolet Spark () is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022. The vehicle was developed by Daewoo and introduced in 1998 as the Daewoo Matiz (). In 2002, General Motors purchased Daewoo Motors, which ...

from May 2003.

References

External links

Official website
{{Automotive industry in Ecuador Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1970 1970 establishments in Ecuador