Much like the United States, China slaps a tariff onto foreign trucks. It currently sits at 25%, but that hasn't stopped Ford from selling the F-150 Raptor over there. Now Automotive News is reporting that GM will try its hand in the Chinese truck market. The mid-size Colorado and full-size Silverado will be sold in China next year. The trucks will be made in the United States and then sold in China, with pricing unknown at the moment. GM already does brisk business in China thanks to Buick but is in uncharted waters here.

According to Automotive News the truck market in China is small thanks to government regulations concerning pollution and traffic jams. However, those regulations were recently lifted in four provinces. Combined those provinces have a population of 257,292,340. Of course not all those people have the means to buy a Chevy Colorado or Silverado, especially one that has been marked up by 25%, but GM still has a large pool of prospective buyers to work with, both in those four provinces and in the country overall. It'll be interesting to see what trims the Colorado and Silverado are offered in. There seems to be room for trucks as status symbols and work vehicles. Many American trucks occupy a space in between, though.

Will Chinese buyers really see trucks as an alternative to SUVs like some American drivers do? We think not, which means that it's either base models and range-toppers or bust! With that 25% tariff GM might want to just forget about the single cab models and go straight to the top of the lineup.