Ford debuted a new Taurus for sale in China only. The larger Taurus is designed to accommodate Chinese buyers who sit in the back while using a driver.

Ford has lifted the covers on a new version of its big Taurus. But in a significant move, it is describing the model on display at this week’s Shanghai Motor Show as a “new premium business sedan for China.”

That translates from Mandarin to mean that American buyers almost certainly will not see the new Taurus design come to the U.S. – at least not any time soon considering the weak market here for full-size vehicles. The Ford sedan is one of several large new models debuting in Shanghai – a list including the Volkswagen C Coupe – that will not make it the States.

But while the maker stressed in a release that the new Taurus is “designed especially to meet the needs of the Chinese market,” John Lawler, the chairman and CEO of Ford China insists the big sedan “shows the amazing strength and flexibility of our One Ford plan.”

There might be several ways to interpret that, as the general One Ford philosophy outlined by now-retired CEO Alan Mulally has been to develop vehicles for use around the world, rather than individual markets. Could that mean the new Taurus eventually will come to the States in some form? For now, Ford isn’t saying.

The new Taurus was not designed for the U.S. market where full size car sales are slumping.

What it does reveal is that the new model is about six inches shorter than the current Taurus overall. But it gets a wheelbase that is four inches longer. That is very much a design philosophy influenced by China where business executives and government officials don’t just want a large vehicle but one in which they can ride in back leaving the often challenging task of negotiating urban traffic to their chauffeurs.

Ford underscores the layout of the new Taurus by emphasizing the “abundant second-row legroom,” and the integration of “more than 25 intelligent stowage spaces.”

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“We wanted to create a vehicle that displays a maturity of design with balanced and harmonious proportions, tailored to the business customer in China,” said Todd Willing, Asia Pacific Design director and exterior designer for the Ford Taurus. “Our aim was to create a vehicle that is elegant, inviting and quietly confident.”

Visually, the nose of the new Taurus is distinguished by the now familiar Ford trapezoidal five-bar grille, and more modern LED projector headlamps than the current sedan. Chrome rings add supplemental LED driving lights.

Like many automakers in China, Ford is ensuring that rear-seat passengers get a lot of creature comforts.

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The car features a “powerful hood profile and planted architecture” with more upscale details, including upswept door trim and 19-inch spoke alloy wheels.

In back, the new Taurus adopts multi-piece LED taillights linked by a bright chrome bar. Integrated chrome exhaust tips complete the rear and offer another discreet hint at performance. It also adds bright chrome exhaust tips hinting at the performance potential of the new twin-turbo 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine.

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The Chinese Taurus will be assembled at a new $760 million assembly plant in Hangzhou. Ford was a latecomer to China but has been playing a rapid game of catch-up, recently announcing a number of major steps to boost capacity – enough to make it one of the booming Chinese market’s largest brands.