Ecuador is a country we haven’t mentioned too often in the past, but this may soon change. For years, the country lagged behind the region, having only a handful of sales and sitting at the bottom of the list with Peru and Argentina back in 2023. The last time we reported on it (a year and a half ago), market share had just surpassed 2% and was hovering around 3%. Back then, this was an immense success. But things are improving faster than anybody expected. In our latest Latin American reports, Ecuador has been a rising star. The country reached 6% BEV in Q1 of this year, has by now comfortably surpassed 10% BEV, and if we add PHEVs to the tally, is getting close to 20%! If this trend holds, the country could surpass Colombia to become the third most advanced EV market in Latin America! Let’s look at the numbers. Market Overview An important comment before we start: for years, we have only published data on Ecuador’s BEV sales. Recently, in ZEMO, we have started to manually identify PHEVs (with a bit of help from Ecuador’s association AEADE), meaning that we can now add these to the tally. The exercise goes all the way back to 2017, so there will not be a sudden “jump” when PHEVs are added (as was the case with Uruguay, for example). That being said, growth in 2026 has been exemplary. Through the year, sales have increased by 276%, and in August this number rose to 426%! The country first reached 100 sales in October 2023 and 1.000 in December 2025, but by August it got very close to the 3.000 mark! Source: zemo-la.com BEVs dominate Ecuador’s EV landscape, but PHEVs are more present than in other smaller markets, such as Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Colombia. Through 2026, we’re seeing a 70/30 divide, with BEVs accounting for most of the sales but PHEVs still holding almost a third of the market. It’s important to note that August was a pretty impressive month, with BEVs surpassing 2,000 units for the first time and PHEVs surpassing 800. It remains to be seen if these levels will be sustained in the coming months. Source: zemo-la.com And getting to market share, this means that in August, BEVs managed to get 13.8% of all vehicles sold and PHEVs got 5.5%, for a total of 19.3%! We’re getting very close to 20% here. Source: zemo-la.com This growth has been happening amidst a general automotive boom in the post-pandemic era. This translates into an EV transition that is yet to curb ICEV growth. Fuel-based vehicles (ICEV, MHEV & HEV) have had a record 2026 so far, with sales in the January–August period above any other year up to 2018, even doubling the total for 2020. This means that, unlike with Uruguay, we’re not at a point where EVs are reversing the growth for combustion powertrains, but we should find ourselves at that point soon, perhaps as soon as next year. Looking at brands, BYD remained the leader in August, but just as in Uruguay, we’re seeing more competition and a more balanced market. BYD’s market share has gone from over 70% in 2024 to below 30% in 2026. Following, surprisingly, come two legacy automakers: Chevrolet in second place thanks to its rebranded Chinese EVs, and Kia in third place, surprisingly thanks to the success of the European-made EV2! Source: zemo-la.com It looks like the European industry finally has something capable of fighting the Chinese! (Even if not from a European brand.) Model-wise, we follow the exact same distribution, with the BYD Yuan Up leading the chart, followed by the Baojun Yep Plus Chevrolet Spark EUV and the Kia EV2. The BYD Seagull follows in fourth position, followed by the DFSK E5, a plug-in SUV. A notable mention goes out to the recently arrived Chery iCar (or iCaur) V23, an affordable fully electric off-roader that may prove very popular in rural areas in the Andes. Source: zemo-la.com Year to date, BYD remains the leader, still with some 30% market share, followed by Chevrolet and then DFSK in bronze. Dongfeng gets the fourth position and Kia the fifth. Source: zemo-la.com Model-wise, we see again the BYD Yuan Up on top, followed by the DFSK E5 and the Chevrolet Spark EUV. The Seagull makes #4 and the Changan CS55 PHEV gets the fifth position. A notable mention for the Kia EV2, which got the seventh position despite only being sold in the country for three months this year. Source: zemo-la.com Final thoughts Ecuador’s EV adoption has sped up in 2026, already from very healthy growth in 2025. The market has become more competitive and the government has long ended subsidies to gasoline and diesel — though, it started providing aid to the owners of diesel buses and trucks due to the increase in fuel prices from Trump’s war in Iran. This all means we’re seeing a country go from laggard to leader in record time. Only three years ago, Ecuador was firmly at the bottom part of our ranking. This success has to do with the arrival of affordable EVs. With tariff and tax exemptions (which help make them cheaper), and with the end of fuel subsidies, it’s no coincidence that Ecuador’s EV adoption started to ramp up after fuel prices went up. Now, looking at the specifics in this market, there are two models that I find extremely interesting in this small market, as they may herald changes to come: the Kia EV2 and the Chery iCar 23 (or iCaur 23). Built in Slovakia, the Kia EV2 is the first European-made car we’ve seen in Latin America at what one may call “reasonable” prices. Sure, at $23,000, the mini-SUV (or lifted hatchback, whatever you prefer) may be a bit expensive, but it’s in the ballpark of similar ICEV crossovers and costs the same as the BYD Yuan Up whilst not being much worse overall (it’s 30 cm shorter and the battery 3 kWh smaller). For what I’ve found, the battery is likely imported from China (at least for the cheaper version), but, still, the car is good enough to make an impact and shows that if countries and regions commit to EVs, they will be able to lower prices and in due time compete with the uber-powerful Chinese. Kia EV2 As for the Chery iCar V23, I feel it heralds the entry of EVs into segments that up until now have been dominated exclusively by ICEVs. This is a rugged SUV designed for rural roads with two versions (4×2 and 4×4), the latter of which costs the same as a Suzuki Jimny ($28,000), formerly the most affordable 4×4 off-roader available. Yes, I’ve ridden in a Jimny and those things can go up a vertical wall, something I doubt the iCar will manage, but most people like them because they have decent space and can be comfortably driven through unpaved roads and the occasional off-roading area, and the V23 is perfectly capable of this task. Its price and usability make this vehicle a very likely favorite for people in small towns, rural areas, and badly connected regions. iCar V23 One small comment: according to official specs, the V23 seems to be the least efficient EV in the history of EVs, promising only 420 km (261 m) of range in the 4×4 version with a massive 81 kWh battery … and this in the very optimistic NEDC cycle. It remains to be seen if efficiency is really that bad, or if there was a mistake on the website and it’s 420 km WLTP, something reasonable taking into account the bad aerodynamics of the car. Regardless, Ecuador looks every day less like an early-adopter story and more like a mature market where EVs are taking it by storm. And if Colombia is not careful, it could soon lose the bronze to this rising star!