General Motors announced on Monday at the Guangzhou Auto Show that the Volt will go on sale in eight Chinese cities.

Yes, you read correctly – American-as-apple-pie Chevrolet Volts will soon be filling up some of those ships that now sail empty on the return trip to China, at least for a while. General Motors announced on Monday at the Guangzhou Auto Show that the Volt will go on sale in eight Chinese cities. The company set no date, but did announce a China price of around $75,500.

If that sounds a little steep compared to $40,000 in the US, and around $58,000 for the European version (the Opel Ampera), note that Chinese EV buyers get a healthy tax credit of $19,000. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Monday that China has agreed to extend the same tax credits to foreign-built EVs.

Kirk also announced that China has “specifically confirmed it would not force US auto manufacturers to transfer electric vehicle technology to Chinese partners.” In the past, several transportation companies have complained of formal or informal pressure to hand over the family jewels, so to speak.

The first batch of China-bound Volts is being built at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant. If sales take off in the Middle Kingdom, GM may start assembling Volts there in the future. “We're going to export into China for probably a year or two and see if it gets a take,” GM CEO Dan Akerson told Bloomberg News in September. “If it does, we may manufacture it there.”

GM already has several woks on the fire over there, including a joint venture with local partner SAIC to build a Chinese battery-electric vehicle.

Image: General Motors