Chevrolet is teasing its new Colorado pickup truck show vehicle that it plans to show at the Bangkok International Motor Show later this month.
Ford may have given up on small and mid-size trucks for the U.S. market, but GM isn’t ready throw in the towel yet.
During its 2008 restructuring, GM said it would kill its mid-size Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, but it would appear the automaker has had a change of heart.
GM gave a sneak peek of the Colorado it will introduce at the Bangkok International Motor Show, which begins March 25.
“Trucks play a key role in most Southeast Asian markets,” said Susan Docherty, vice president of GMIO Sales, Marketing and Aftersales. “Nowhere is this more evident than in Thailand, where trucks like the Colorado are ingrained in the local lifestyle.”
GM plans to stop building the current Colorado, as well its twin, the GMC Canyon, in 2012. The Shreveport, La., plant where the trucks are built is slated to close. But pickuptrucks.com reported last month that development on the next-generation 2014 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon for the U.S. and Canada is under way, based on GM’s all-new GMI 700 body-on-frame global small truck platform that will be built in Thailand starting late this year.
Speculation is that GM will move production to the under-utilized Wentzville, Mo., where it builds full-size vans.
The market for pickups other than full-size has been dwindling for years with Mazda, Mitsubishi and Isuzu already pulling out. Ford will end production of the 29-year-old U.S.-built Ranger later this year. It is introducing a new Ranger, but the new model will not be built or sold in the U.S. market.
As small pickups have grown, most are nearly as big as their full-size counterparts, leaving little to differentiate them. Ford is offering V-6 versions of the F-150, giving buyers a fuel-efficient option. It also found that many Ranger buyers simply were looking for the absolute cheapest new vehicle they could get. That distinction will belong to the Fiesta. In addition, the TransitConnect delivery vehicle might fill the need for some commercial buyers.
Click here to read more about the Ranger.