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It appears that Chevrolet has some big plans for he Japanese market as it is returning to Japan with its first SUV in three years. The American manufacturer is betting on the mid-sized Captiva in order to extend the brand’s image beyond sports cars and boost its sales on the market. According to Automotive News, the three-row, seven-seat Chevrolet Captiva will go on sale in Japan on July 30. The model was introduced in Europe this spring and it was largely engineered by GM’s South Korea’s unit.

The Japanese version will also be manufactured in South Korea, as the vehicle uses the same Theta platform found on cars such as Chevrolet Equinox and Cadillac SRX. The Chevrolet Captiva will only be offered in a top-trim package and pricing will start at ¥3.54 million (or $43,300), which means the same level as the car offered by rivals such as the Toyota Vanguard and Mitsubishi Outlander.

For those who don’t know, the Chevrolet brand is known in Japan for cars such as the Corvette and Camaro, but the American brand want to expand its lineup and improve sales with new models. The last SUV offered by Chevrolet on the Japanese market was the TrailBlazer, back in 2008. [via - 4wheelsnews]