Surpassing all expectations, Colombia’s EV market is once again growing at explosive rates, with sales in April 2026 more than 300% above those in April 2025. BEV market share alone almost reached 20%, compared with 7.4% 12 months ago! The market has grown faster than even the most optimistic of us ever predicted, and I’m now wondering if my original forecast of 50% EV market share by late 2028 is going to fall short. A large part of the change, as we mentioned in a previous article, is the dramatic lowering in prices triggered by several brands, but mainly by Tesla, in late 2025. Most EVs can now be considered slightly cheaper than comparable ICEVs in the Colombian market (and much cheaper than hybrids), and even though this has come at the cost of relatively limited range, at least in the affordable segments, it’s clearly been enough to massively promote electric mobility. Let’s look at the numbers! Market overview EV sales have reached an all-time high of almost 6,000 units, more than quadrupling results from a year ago. Sales have benefited from Tesla’s cumulative reserves, which have been available since November 2025 but only really ramped up deliveries in March, which is why March and April mark the absolute highest this market has ever reached: Source: https://zemo-la.com/ The market continues to be very BEV-heavy, with 88% sales being BEVs and 12% being PHEVs. BEVs have gained ground thanks to lower prices, moving from a roughly 80/20 balance in 2025 closer to 90/10 in 2026. Still, I’m surprised PHEVs retain strong growth and presence, as BEV prices have now fallen far behind those of their PHEV peers. Source: https://zemo-la.com/ Market share continues its trend upwards, with the start of Tesla deliveries bringing it from 12.1% in February to 20.2% in March and 22% in April. This is happening before the arrival of several non-Tesla heavy hitters, including the MG4, Geely EX2 and EX5, Dongfeng Viggo, and Chery E5, meaning I would expect market share to rise even more in the coming months. Source: https://zemo-la.com/ The market is currently having a seismic shift from a BYD-dominated arena to a Tesla-dominated one. Sales in April show the US brand commanding over 50% of EV sales, with BYD falling to a mere 21%. Deepal closes out the podium, and Chery and Chevrolet complete the top 5, the latter thanks to its strategy of re-branding Chinese EVs as Chevrolets. Source: https://zemo-la.com/ Model-wise, the Tesla Model Y was not only the most sold EV in April, but also the most sold model overall in the Colombian market. Following in a distant second place comes the BYD Yuan Up, and the Model 3 got the bronze. Notable mentions for the Deepal S05, whose design has made it extremely popular, and the Chevrolet Spark EUV and Captiva EV, two rebranded Chinese EVs (Baojun Yep Plus and Wuling Starlight S) that have gotten a legacy automaker model to enter the top 10 for the first time in a while. Source: https://zemo-la.com/ Looking at the first four months of the year, we see that despite being absent for two of them, Tesla still manages to be the top dog, followed closely to BYD (though we can expect the distance to increase as the year passes) and Deepal. The list remains more or less the same as April’s one, with Chery and Chevrolet closing out the top 5, and a re-shuffled GAC, BMW, Volvo, MG, and Kia closing the top 10. Source: https://zemo-la.com/ Model-wise, the Tesla Model Y retains the title, again for the entire vehicle market, despite barely having any registrations in the first two months. We see mostly the same list as for April, except that the Deepal S07 makes an appearance and the BYD Dolphin is missing, which makes sense since the renewed, more modern, and more affordable 2027-model Dolphin just started sales in April. Source: https://zemo-la.com/ A booming market, a changing country Several things are happening in Colombia at the same time. Most important of all, Tesla’s arrival at such affordable prices has made the brand an extremely powerful contender, bringing it on par with the most successful brands in the country and making it third overall, below Kia and Renault. Tesla’s popularity, as I mentioned in the article quoted above, has also brought what we could call the “mainstreaming” of EVs, now routinely discussed and promoted in sites that were previously the realm of combustion vehicles. In addition to this, we see competition brewing between Chinese brands, now entering a price war that reminds me of the one they have been having in China the last few years. It seems now that every month we get news on a couple of new, more affordable EVs, and others must lower their prices to remain relevant. Now, it’s not only EVs that are booming — hybrids (including MHEVs) also are, and it’s in this segment that Legacy Auto has been focusing its efforts. VW is bringing the MHEV Tiguan (and some of us hope the PHEV will be next), Toyota just presented the very affordable HEV Yaris, and Renault has announced that an “electrified” vehicle will be built in its plant in Medellín. Even though I’d love for it to be an EV, given the tariff exemption for these, it makes much more sense for it to be either a PHEV (of which Renault does not have many) or an HEV. Based upon current sales data, either the Duster HEV or the Arkana HEV would make the most sense. Many of you would consider that focusing on HEVs, given current conditions, is not very smart … and I would agree. But, for now, there’s not really an opening for Legacy Auto to compete with purely electric cars. The Renault 4, a very loved car in Colombia, is allegedly coming … at Tesla Model Y pricing, and as much as I may love its design, this will simply not fly. How can you justify an R4 at almost twice the price of a Geely EX2 or MG4? Regardless, Legacy Auto’s strategy is working, for now, thanks to massive growth in overall sales, with Colombia’s vehicle market increasing by a tremendous 50% through the first four months of the year. This means that, despite the exponential growth in EV sales, combustion-only vehicles (HEV+ICEV) are also growing quite a bit. On a brightest note, we do find that despite Colombia’s vehicle market reaching a new all-time record in the first months of 2026, surpassing the previous one from 2012, EVs have chirped enough sales to make combustion-only powertrains fall to the much lower levels of 2016–2019. Final thoughts EV sales are booming. ICEV sales are still growing, sure, but a lot of these are hybrids. And we’re entering the period at which a lot of vehicles sold in the record years of 2011–2014 will be retired. This means that gasoline consumption surely is stagnating, right? Well … yes and no. There was a significant decrease after the end of subsidies in 2022, but consumption has recovered since, even if it remains some 4% below its peak. Motorcycle sales, nearly all of which are ICEVs, are booming, likely surpassing a million units this year. And, of course, a lot of gasoline is used in cocaine production and therefore indifferent to the amount of vehicles in the streets. However, two factors are likely to affect gasoline in the coming months and years. First, it’s likely the price will go up thanks to Trump’s war in Iran. Second, and most important, EV taxis are now becoming popular, with the government providing subsidies for taxi owners and some big taxi companies entering the segment. If prices go up more than 15%, this could well be enough to end the cycle of growth in gasoline demand we’ve seen the last four years, and the start of its definitive decline. Diesel will be a tougher nut to crack. For now, it’s only being substituted by urban electric buses, of which a significant fleet will enter service in Bogota this year. However, until subsidies are phased out and affordable trucks enter the market, most likely from China, diesel demand will remain growing. Regardless, the market is moving in the right direction and at a speed many of us would’ve never expected only a year ago. As more affordable vehicles enter the market, and since Tesla is yet to finish serving its backlog of reservations (allegedly, it may have gotten as many as 30,000 so far, with fewer than 5,5oo being delivered), I expect momentum to be maintained, perhaps closing the year somewhere around 30% market share. What do you guys think?
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