The entry car in Colombia is no longer popular

Just five years ago, before the pandemic closed the doors to the world, the 30 to 40 million pesos range in Colombia offered a varied range for those looking for an entry-level car , the segment many aspire to for everything that the first four-wheeled vehicle represents. Today, the picture is quite different.

Precisely because of the pandemic and its aftermath on economic health, cars became more expensive , something that was felt especially in the cheaper vehicle segment, since most of their buyers are people with less payment capacity and who depend largely on the benevolence of demanding banks.

Let's look at the change in the supply of the cheapest cars in Colombia. According to the price list published in Motor Magazine 741, dated February 19, 2020, the cheapest was the Suzuki Alto 800 STD, at 29.4 million pesos, followed by models such as the Chevrolet Spark and Sail, the Fiat Mobi, the Kia Picanto Emotion, the Nissan March, the Renault Kwid and Logan Life, and the Volkswagen Gol Trendline, which reached 40 million pesos.

Choosing an entry-level car is usually a decision dictated by several factors. First, your budget, both the amount of money available for a down payment and the remaining amount that would need to be financed.

From there, we jump to the reasons for purchase, such as the need to transport the family or a tool to work on one of the platforms that have helped so many. However, the prices of entry-level cars seem to have affected the outlook, and that's why they aren't appearing as prominently among the best-sellers today.

At the end of April 2025, the best-selling car in Colombia, according to figures from Fenalco and Andi, is the Mazda CX-30, which has a starting price of 113 million pesos . It is followed by the Renault Duster, which starts at 81 million; the Toyota Corolla Cross, from 135 million; the Mazda2 (from 82 million); and the Kia Picanto (from 57 million).

Making the decision to buy a new car in Colombia today seems more difficult than it was five or more years ago, although the interest rate reduction announced by the Central Bank of Colombia could lead to a further shift in the trend. However, high prices for new cars could continue to drive the used market.

Opting for a car of this type carries several risks, but it's a valid option with a high incidence. According to data from the National Autonomous University of Navarre (RUNT), 786,486 car and truck transfers were made in 2024 , a considerable figure compared to the 200,953 new car registrations.

In any case, the market is recovering, and the number of new registrations in 2024 was 7.9% higher than in 2023, while the first four months of this year also showed an increase compared to 2024.

Another factor that could continue to boost new car sales is the growing supply of hybrid and electric vehicles. Here we see the main change in the entry-level car segment, as the cheapest currently available is the Bestune Xiaoma, a Chinese electric "microcar" launched at the last Auto Show with a price tag of 45 million pesos.

The Suzuki Alto, the cheapest five years ago, is no longer sold in Colombia and has been replaced by the Renault Kwid, which starts at 50 million, according to the price list in the most recent Motor Magazine.

If we stay in the range of 50 to 60 million, we only find another gasoline car, the Kia Picanto in its base version (57 million pesos), and an electric one, the Changan Lumin (60 million pesos).

Another type of vehicle also appears, the Opel Rocks-e quadricycle, worth 50 million euros, a proposal we'd previously seen with the Renault Twizy. Popular in European cities as rental vehicles for days, weeks, or months, quadricycles are governed by different laws and regulations that limit their maximum weight, exempt them from requirements such as ABS and airbags, and, depending on the country, they can even be driven from the age of 15 without a license.

Although the latter doesn't apply in Colombia, where it's registered as a car and therefore requires a driver's license, it's a better option for those looking for an urban vehicle. This is due to its limited range (up to 75 kilometers) and speed (up to 45 km/h).

Further up the price range, between 60 and 80 million euros, the options expand with the Chevrolet Onix, Citroën C3, Hyundai HB20, more versions of the Kia Picanto, the Renault Logan, Sandero and Stepway, and the Volkswagen Polo.

A look at hybrids and electric vehicles in this range reveals the Suzuki Swift (mild hybrid), the JMEV2 (electric), and the Renault Kwid E-Tech (electric). And we're starting to find the most affordable SUVs: the Changan CS15 (72 million) and the MG ZS (73 million).

At this point, we'd say the threshold of what we could classify as an entry-level car has been crossed, at least from a price point of view, since 80 million pesos isn't an easy figure for most pockets to assimilate, nor is it easy for banks to "fork over."

With those 80 million, just to draw a parallel with the 2020 market, it was possible to get into any Mazda2 (today it starts at 82 million), a Nissan Sentra Exclusive (from 72 million to 123 million), and even a camper like the Suzuki Jimny or pickup trucks like the Renault Duster and Volkswagen T-Cross.

Thus, it is clear that the entry-level car landscape in Colombia has undergone significant changes in recent years , although determining whether these changes are good or bad will require a different kind of discussion: just as the range of options is broader thanks to hybrids, electrics, and the return of quadricycles, accessing these also involves a financial effort that costs more.

Rationally speaking, owning a car in Colombia can still be considered a luxury due to all the associated expenses (taxes, gasoline, parking, tolls, to name a few), but at the same time it is a necessity that many must meet, whether to offset an inefficient public transportation system or the lack of job security.

A general look at the current market reveals that despite the increase in new car prices, sales continue to rise and, contrary to what one might think, are focused on models that aren't the cheapest. Knowing with certainty how the market will continue to behave is complicated, but the only certainty is that, at least for now, the entry-level car is no longer popular in Colombia.