Filed under: SUV, Plants/Manufacturing, GM, Hummer, Off-Road

Unless a buyer for Hummer materializes in the next few months, General Motors will continue to wind-down its environmental group dart board. The slow death of Hummer has actually been in process since before The General announced that the sale of the brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery fell through, as the company’s Shreveport, LA facility stopped making H3 and H3T models in January.

But while Shreveport has been down for two months, it looks like the plant could dust off the H3 tooling to fill one more big order. Brandcentric site Hummerguy.net is reporting that GM is ramping up production of the H3 from April 12 to May 13 to fill a 849 unit order. The General reportedly didn’t announce the purchaser of the reported mega Hummer order, but the Detroit, MI-based automaker did say that the order was not related to the brand’s wind-down or sale.

We’re thinking this news won’t stop Hummer from off-roading into the sunset, but it does at least prove that there are still people that like Hummers. Now all GM needs is a Hummer lover with a spare $150 million laying around the compound to step up and buy the withering brand.

[Source: Hummer Guy]

Hummer plant coming back online to fill 849-unit order? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hummer plant coming back online to fill 849-unit order?

Filed under: SUV, China, Government/Legal, Hummer, Earnings/Financials

It looks like General Motors‘ deal to sell its Hummer brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery is on shaky ground. According to Reuters, the likelihood that the Chinese government will give its approval to Tengzhong has been waning in recent weeks, leading the would-be purchasers to consider making the acquisition using an offshore investment vehicle to skirt the need for Chinese regulatory approval. GM and Tengzhong had originally set a January 31st deadline to complete the sale, later extending that time frame to February 28th.

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce are thought to have taken issue with the idea of such an environmentally unfriendly automaker coming under Chinese ownership. Further, Tengzhong has never actually made a passenger vehicle, and China already has over 100 companies producing automobiles and the government has gone on record saying it would like to reduce that number. Stay tuned.

[Source: Reuters]

Hummer deal with China’s Tengzhong looking shaky originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hummer deal with China’s Tengzhong looking shaky

Filed under: Sedan, Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, GM, Hummer

Lost in the hoopla surrounding General Motors’ attempted sale/wind-down of Saab and Ford’s situation with Volvo and Geely has been any word surrounding the sale of Hummer to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery. Whatever the state of the Hummer transaction, it appears The General is done waiting. The Detroit News reports that GM plans to halt Hummer production at its Shreveport, LA assembly plant on Monday until a sale of the brand is complete. The factory builds the H3 and H3T (models that account for about 25-percent of the plant’s overall production) and the General says it’s premature to speculate how much the facility’s 1,120 workers will be affected.

Hummer dealers currently have a stockpile of about 2,100 H3 variants on lots – enough of a supply to last seven months at the model’s current take rate. Hummer spokesman Nick Richards told the DetNews that H3 production will ramp back up after the sale “once marketing kicks back in and there is new interest and enthusiasm.” Of course, if the Hummer sale ends anything like GM’s Saab and Saturn debacles, that date could be never.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Report: GM to idle Hummer production on Monday until China deal goes through originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: GM to idle Hummer production on Monday until China deal goes through

Filed under: SUV, Truck, GM, Hummer, Rumormill, Off-Road

As a brand, Hummer has been in limbo since General Motors announced it was selling the downtrodden marque to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. Ltd. Speculation remains that the sale could be completed on or around December 1, pending approval from GM and the Chinese government. For now, everything is on hold, though Tengzhong and new Hummer CEO Jim Taylor are apparently still working hard to plan Hummer’s future.

First on the “Honey Do” list is to arrest the free-fall of Hummer sales. Right now, sales are down 64% on the year to about 8,500 units, but Hummer is looking for 25,000 sales in 2010. That will be a tough nut to crack, but Automotive News reports that the company optimistically plans to get things done in part with some aggressive marketing. Ultimately, however, new product will be needed to get dealerships buzzing with customers again. In the meantime, Hummer’s 154 U.S. dealers need more inventory in the showrooms to help move metal. AN says that dealers only have 1,300 units in stock, compared to the 7,400 vehicles at the same time in 2008.

The last piece of the Hummer reclamation project is adding those new models. When Tengzhong gets the keys to the Hummer kingdom, it will also receive engineering plans for the H4, a new smaller model that is reportedly based on the HX Concept from the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Taylor reportedly told AN that Hummer’s Jeep Wrangler fighter could arrive within three years. Also possible is an even smaller Hummer H5, which would help the SUV automaker to meet future CAFE requirements. Taylor even goes as far as to say that the smaller H4 and H5 could one day replace the brand’s heavier and thirstier H2 and H3 mainstays. The next big challenge for Hummer once the sale becomes final is to find a manufacturing partner to build these vehicles. GM will reportedly cease building Hummer models as early as the end of 2010.

[Source: Automotive News - subs req'd]

REPORT: Hummer getting plans in order for H4 and H5 models originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Hummer getting plans in order for H4 and H5 models

Filed under: SUV, Government/Legal, Hummer, Earnings/Financials

Not so many years ago, Hummer appeared to be one of General Motors’ most potentially lucrative brands. Now, the fallen brand looks poised to fall into the hands of the Chinese very soon. Bloomberg is reporting that a deal to sell Hummer could be finalized in the coming days as Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. hammers out a purchase price. During its bankruptcy proceedings, GM estimated the Hummer brand to be worth $500 million, but last week’s collapse of the Saturn deal with Roger Penske appears to have made the Detroit automaker ready to accept whatever it can get. The final tab paid by Sichuan Tengzhong could be as low as $150 million.

The Chinese government has thus far been reluctant to approve Sichuan Tengzhong’s move for Hummer, in part because of the brand’s image as a gas guzzler. The hope is that once a purchase agreement is complete, the regulators will allow it to move forward. For its part, GM likely just wants the deal done and some extra cash in its coffers so it can move on with its streamlining efforts plans.

[Source: Bloomberg]

REPORT: GM close to offloading Hummer for as little as $150 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: GM close to offloading Hummer for as little as $150 million