Each brand will present three models at the most important fair in the automotive industry.
At least 35 vehicle brands will participate in the Auto Expo 2024, the most important fair in the automotive industry to be held from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 November, announced this Thursday the Salvadoran Association of Vehicle Distributors (Asalve).
The biggest competitors on the market will meet in Salamanca Eventos, Nuevo Cuscatlán, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and with free admission. The fair will also involve banks, financiers, insurers, accessories companies and valuations.
The 2024 edition contemplates an exhibition for sedan and SUV vehicles, while in another room there will be an area for pick-up and commercial vehicles. In addition, banks, insurers and ancillary companies, as well as food sales, will be found in another enclosure.
The Auto Expo is a tradition in El Salvador because it is a place where visitors can search for the vehicle of their dreams, said Guillermo Herrador, executive director of Asalve.
The exhibition will bring together the biggest brands in the Salvadoran market, such as Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Fuso, Hino, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jeep, Mahindra, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, RAM, Suzuki, Toyota and Volkswagen.
In addition, Chinese brands Bestune, BYD, Changan, Chery, Forland, Foton, Geely, Haval, JAC, JMC, POER and ZX Auto will participate, which in recent years have settled a part of the automotive market, dominated by Japanese and South Korean manufacturers.
Alexander Mendoza, Asalve’s managing director and event director, said Chinese manufacturers account for about 11 percent of the auto industry’s total sales. Chinese brands are not brands that come a year or six months. No, they’re brands that stay decades. The Chinese are with a very high force and power, he added.
The fair will be joined by Promerica, Banco de América Central, Cuscatlán, San Ignacio Credit Fund, Davivienda, CrediQ, Auto Fácil, Arrend Leasing, SISA, Asesuisa and Qualitas.
Weight in the economy
After the derivatives of crude oil and medicines, vehicles are one of the most imported products by Salvadorans. The Central Reserve Bank (BCR) reports that purchases of cars, motorcycles and parts accounted for more than $1,001 million at the close of 2023, 8.4 percent growth compared to 2022.
The vehicle fleet exceeded 1.83 million units – between cars and motorcycles – last September, equivalent to an annual growth of 6.12%. In the top 5 of the best-selling brands is Toyota (13.5 per cent), Nissan (11.8 per cent), Honda (8.49 per cent), Kia (6.71 per cent) and Hyundai (5.6 per cent).
According to Asalve, which brings together 29 people, the automotive sector generates more than 3,000 direct jobs.
This article has been translated after first appearing in Diario El Mundo