America's Iconic Blue-collar Vehicles to Be Marketed to China's Upper Class

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Pickup trucks are about as stereotypically American as firearms, baseball, Coca-Cola, and landing on the moon. However, General Motors and Ford don’t want us hoarding all that goodness and plan on exporting their piece of the American pie to the East. The Big Two want to place large American trucks in the hands of upscale Chinese buyers and establish the eminence of a vehicle China currently sees as little more than a tool for farming or construction.

Coincidentally, that is exactly how our love affair with the truck began.

Trucks are only a sliver of the Chinese market right now, though. IHS Markit forecasts a 14 percent increase in pickup truck sales this year, but that only accounts for 1.4 percent of China’s light vehicle market.

Reuters suggests that this may be because so many trucks are restricted to overnight driving in a number of Chinese cities. As a working vehicle, they are largely impractical for personal use outside of rural areas. However, four less-urbanized provinces have launched a trial program allowing trucks into city zones in an attempt to stimulate production as economic growth and automobile sales stagnate.

Now, Ford and GM just need to solve an image problem. “The Chinese call it pika, pika – a very low-end worker’s [vehicle]. But the [Ford F-150] Raptor is totally different,” Wesley Liu, Ford’s Asia-Pacific sales director, told Reuters.

Considering that Pabst Blue Ribbon has managed to position itself as a popular luxury brand in China, the sales success of premium pickups doesn’t seem entirely out the question. The country’s love of Buick and growing affinity for Cadillac further substantiate its near obsession with all things it deems quintessentially American.

Buick sold 105,071 cars in October and Cadillac saw its sales more than double, posting a 117.6 percent increase from the year before.

Those products sell because they use prestige to differentiate themselves from domestic Chinese vehicles. With the lessened restrictions, U.S. automakers want to similarly distance their trucks from the local offerings while crafting a very specific image.

Reuters writes:

Ford and GM – which displayed its Chevrolet Colorado and Silverado trucks around the Guangzhou show, with t-shirt clad urban cowboys and an all-leather rock band selling the trucks’ macho, all-American appeal – have not yet announced prices for their pick-ups, expected to be launched next year. But they should command a sizeable premium to locally made models as China slaps a 25 percent tax on imports.

In April, Ford announced it would bring a performance version of its F-Series to China. A spokesman said the company was also studying whether to include mass-market model, like the F-150 or Ranger, to China, stating that it would likely come down to demand and future regulations.

“The people who buy the Raptor maybe own some other premium vehicle already. This is another toy,” Liu said.

He believes the Raptor is aimed at four types of buyers: wealthy buyers who want to make a splash, business owners that want something other than a traditional commercial vehicle, drivers who want a single all-purpose car, and enthusiasts who “just like the mechanics.”

[Image: Ford Motor Company]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • NMGOM NMGOM on Dec 02, 2016

    "America’s Iconic Blue-collar Vehicles to be Marketed ...." What a silly, archaic stereotype! There hasn't been anything "blue collar" about most pickups sold here in years. That ended in the 1960's. When you have full-luxury, 4-door, 4WD models running $65-$75K, it's hardly "blue collar"! Pickup trucks are the new sedan: the REAL vehicles that we all hungered for, for decades. In an ironic way, they harken back to the late 1930's and late 1940's, when cars were big, tough, and capable. So pickups are now the do-all, be-all, haul-all, tow-all, go-anywhere, top-riding comfort vehicles. They can soak up tar strips and expansion joints, as well as major potholes, ruts, and boulders. And they even corner and handle well, with the introduction of rack-and-pinion steering on many models. And they can cruise happily at more than 85 mph on the highways when needed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKZRO5MwjYc). I've had least one pickup truck in residence since 1974, and would never leave home without one! In fact, I can't --- I sold my "inferior" 2006 BMW 325i sedan, after 6 years of pretending I liked that cramped, underpowered, overpriced, over-engineered, unreliable, incapable, poorly riding, piece of ..... So, I certainly can't blame the Chinese for seeing the "Light of Vehicular Salvation" coming upon them from Above....(^_^).... ======================

  • NMGOM NMGOM on Dec 02, 2016

    As an adjunct to my comment above, the Chinese are not the only national culture to begin embracing American pickup trucks. The largest assembly of Ram pickups in the world was recently "performed", --- NOT in Texas --- but in GERMANY at the Nürburgring!! But many were just having fun with the "redneck" thing. Glad to see that some Yurp's are getting real about vehicles....(^_^)... Ref's: 1) http://www.tfltruck.com/2016/11/rednecks-germany-around-1300-ram-pickup-truck-set-world-record-nurburgring/ 2) http://www.topspeed.com/trucks/truck-news/america-invades-germany-ram-trucks-drive-the-n-rburgring-setting-world-record-ar175121.html =========================

  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
  • Dave Holzman A design award for the Prius?!!! Yes, the Prius is a great looking car, but the visibility is terrible from what I've read, notably Consumer Reports. Bad visibility is a dangerous, and very annoying design flaw.
  • Wjtinfwb I've owned multiple Mustang's, none perfect, all an absolute riot. My '85 GT with a big Holley 4 barrel and factory tube header manifolds was a screaming deal in its day and loved to rev. I replaced it with an '88 5.0 Convertible and added a Supercharger. Speed for days, handling... present. Brakes, ummm. But I couldn't kill it and it embarrassed a lot of much more expensive machinery. A '13 Boss 302 in Gotta Have It Green was a subtle as a sledgehammer, open up the exhaust cut outs and every day was Days of Thunder. I miss them all. They've gotten too expensive and too plush, I think, wish they'd go back to a LX version, ditch all the digital crap, cloth interior and just the Handling package as an add on. Keep it under 40k and give todays kids an alternative to a Civic or WRX.
  • Jpolicke In a communist dictatorship, there isn't much export activity that the government isn't aware of. That being the case, if the PRC wanted to, they could cut the flow of fentanyl down to a trickle. Since that isn't happening, I therefore assume Xi Jinping doesn't want it cut. China needs to feel the consequences for knowingly poisoning other countries' citizens.
  • El scotto Oh, ye nattering nabobs of negativism! Think of countries like restaurants. Our neighbors to the north and south are almost as good and the service is fantastic. They're awfully close to being as good as the US. Oh the Europeans are interesting and quaint but you really only go there a few times a year. Gents, the US is simply the hottest restaurant in town. Have to stand in line to get in? Of course. Can you hand out bribes to get in quicker? Of course. Suppliers and employees? Only the best on a constant basis.Did I mention there is a dress code? We strictly enforce it. Don't like it? Suck it.
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