The "Transformers" franchise is uniquely suited to automotive product placement because many main characters are cars that change into robots. In the film, a Trax transforms into a robot of the same name. The car appears in a portion of the movie that was shot and takes place in China.

"This is the first big American brand making a play for China via product placement," said Deborah Harpur, chief executive of Mogul Inc., an entertainment marketing agency specializing in product placement. "It's a fantastic platform to do this kind of deal."

Paramount and GM began discussing the appearance of the Trax in the film in late 2012, said LeeAnne Stables, executive vice president of worldwide marketing partnerships for Paramount.

GM indicated that it would soon be launching a new SUV that would target "young, urban twentysomethings." Stables said that in China that same demographic has come of age with "Transformers" movies, making the Trax a good fit for the film.

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