US pick-up trucks aim to lure wealthy consumers in China

GUANGZHOU, China: Carmakers Ford and General Motors are aiming the pickup truck, an iconic staple in the United States, at upmarket buyers in China, where most associate trucks with farmers and construction workers.

“The Chinese call it pika, pika – a very low- end worker’s (vehicle). But the ( Ford F-150) Raptor is totally different,” said Wesley Liu, Ford’s AsiaPacific sales director, ahead of this month’s Guangzhou autoshow.

Trucks are largely restricted to overnight driving in most Chinese cities, but four provinces – Yunnan, Liaoning, Hebei and Henan – have this year launched trial programmes allowing them into urban zones in an attempt to stimulate production as economic growth, and car sales, slow.

With those looser restrictions, US pick-up makers aim to distance their trucks from local models made by Great Wall Motor, Jiangling Motors Corp and others - and appeal to Chinese premium buyers, like Meng Shuo.

The 32-year- old founder of an investment consultancy, who already owned a Chevrolet Camaro when he bought an F-150 pick-up truck five years ago through an unofficial grey market importer. He has since traded it in for a Toyota Tundra, and also owns a Mercedes luxury sedan and Porsche and Mitsubishi sports cars.

Ford said in April it would bring a high-performance version of its F- series. “The people who buy the Raptor maybe own some other premium vehicle already. This is another toy,” Liu said.

The truck is aimed at four types of buyers, he said – the wealthy, who want to stand out from the crowd; business owners, who want more than a traditional commercial vehicle; drivers who want a single car for all situations; and “gearheads”, who just like the mechanics.

Ford and GM – which displayed its Chevrolet Colorado and Silverado trucks around the Guangzhou show, with T- shirt clad urban cowboys and an allleather 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 per cent tax on imports.

For now, pick-ups are a tiny fraction of China’s market.

Yan Ningya, an official involved in the Hebei pilot project, said the province, home to Great Wall and other automakers, accounts for half of China’s pick-up production.

“China’s pick-up truck market will be very large in the future,” said Yan, noting domestic brands would likely upgrade their trucks to meet the tastes of middle- class drivers.

China’s pick-up truck market will be very large in the future. Yan Ningya, an official involved in Hebei pilot project