After a two-year hiatus, the Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup is returning to U.S. dealerships. Scheduled to arrive in late 2014 as a 2015 model, the truck is based largely on the global Holden Colorado but contains unique styling and equipment. The new Chevy will be joining a small yet important segment of the overall pickup market.
Typically appealing to such construction users as surveyors and field engineers, midsize pickups accounted for just over 200,000 sales in the first 10 months of this year, or roughly 1.6% of the overall light vehicle market, according to Automotive News data. Toyota sold nearly 135,000 Tacomas during that time period, while its closest competitor, Nissan, moved only 51,423 Frontier pickups off the lots. Conspicuously absent is the Ford Ranger, which, after soldiering on for decades, was discontinued in the U.S. in 2011. Dodge bowed out of the segment when it stopped production of the Dakota pickup in 2011.