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

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

, Ecuador, 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 Andes, exporting 1000 units and making history within the incipient Ecuadorian industry.

History

Aymesa was founded in

in 1970. In cooperation with

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

, 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 ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

in 1984. Deviating from this, a model was marketed in Venezuela as Sanremo in the 1970s.d'Auto zu Sanremo
(niederländisch, retrieved 20 November 2016) Since 1999, there has also been an agreement with Kia Motors for vehicle production. In addition, Lada 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. Kadett I (1936–1940) ...

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 Grou ...

and

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

followed from 1981. Specifically named are

Suzuki Vitara The Suzuki Vitara is a series of SUVs produced by Suzuki in five generations since 1988. The second, third-generation and 2022 models are known as the Suzuki Grand Vitara, with the fourth generation eschewing the "Grand" prefix. In Japan and a ...

from 1990, Suzuki Forsa from 1991 to 2004,

Suzuki Esteem The is a subcompact car that was produced by Suzuki in Japan between 1995 and 2002, with South Asian production continuing until 2007. The Cultus Crescent was sold as such in Japan until May 1998, when it was renamed Suzuki Cultus due to the ...

from 1996 to 2002, Isuzu Rodeo from 1996 to 2004, Opel Corsa from 2002 to 2012 and Chevrolet Spark from May 2003.

References

External links

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