GM to export Chevy Silverado, Colorado to China

General Motors plans to sell the Chevrolet Silverado and Colorado pickups in China starting next year to explore the country's small local market for trucks.

The full-size Silverado, Chevrolet's top-selling truck worldwide, and midsize Colorado will be assembled in the United States and sold through parallel import, GM said. The two pickups were displayed at the Guangzhou auto show last week.

GM is the second U.S. automaker to introduce imported pickups in China. In April, U.S. rival Ford Motor Co. said it would ship the F-150 Raptor off-road pickup to China starting in 2017.

China slaps a 25 percent tariff on all car and light-truck imports.

Nissan Motor Co. is the only global auto manufacturer that builds pickups in China.

The country is the world's biggest new car and light-truck market, but sales of pickups in China remain small, since most cities ban pickups for fear that the vehicles will cause traffic congestion and aggravate air pollution.

In March, the Chinese government lifted the ban in four provinces as part of a pilot project to boost the domestic pickup market.

The four provinces chosen for the program are Henan and Hebei in the north, Liaoning in the northeast and Yunnan in the southwest.