Daniel Herrera Escobar

Can you elaborate more on the company’s establishment and its evolution since then?

Derco, founded in Chile in 1959, has emerged as one of the leading companies in the country. From its early days, Derco established partnerships with foreign brands, starting with Suzuki. Over time, the company expanded its operations to Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. Today, Derco is one of the leading automotive distributors in the region operating both as a distributor and retailer in the automotive market with unit vehicle sales that exceed 150,000 annually, representing various automotive and motorcycle brands, as well as spare parts businesses. In Colombia, Derco’s most recent operation, the company currently represents three different brands—Suzuki, Citroën, and DS—and has experienced rapid growth, making it one of the fastest-growing operations within the company. Derco’s steady growth in Colombia is a testament to its commitment toward customer satisfaction and expanding brand and product portfolios coupled with a robust dealer network.

What are the company’s plans to expand Citroën’s market share in Colombia and the rest of the Latin region?

We take great pride in our achievement of successfully introducing and establishing Citroën in Colombia since 2016. At that time, Citroën was relatively unknown in the market, and we adopted a growth strategy focused on increasing brand awareness, expanding the product portfolio, optimizing our pricing and value offers and building customer confidence in Citroën vehicles. Previously, customers were hesitant to purchase from a Citroën vehicle due to concerns about the brand’s steady and robust operation in Colombia. However, we were able to change this perception and gain our customers’ trust by offering unprecedented customer peace of mind and support through our Dercocenter nationwide dealer network. Moving forward, our strategy is to maintain our growth rate and achieve once again a 50% sales increase in 2023 compared to 2022. This will be accomplished through innovation and strategic portfolio expansion. We will introduce new products that cater to the current market demand for affordable, practical, and easy-to-maintain vehicles. This strategy will not only be implemented this year but also in the coming years to sustain our growth trajectory.