QUITO - A Chinese car brand is gaining market shares in Ecuador, the daily El Comercio reported on Sunday.

"2016 was a year of changes for companies in the automotive market. Without doubt, one of the surprises of the market was ... the Great Wall," the daily said.

Great Wall, China's largest SUV manufacturer, went up from the eighth place in 2015 to the fifth last year in the list of the top 10 best-selling brands in Ecuador.

Great Wall's bestseller was the M4, which sold 1,500 units in 2016, or three times more than in 2015.

Hernan Vasconez, general manager of Ambacar, Great Wall's local distributor, was quoted as saying that "the brand consolidated and achieved the growth" that the company has planned since 2010.

South Korea's Kia also moved up in the ranking, with its market share going from 10 percent in 2015 to 14 percent in 2016.