Hummer deal dead. Is this the end of the brand?
The sale of Hummer by GM to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery has been stopped by China’s Government. Is this the end for Hummer?
Now that GM has finally got rid of Saab to Spyker it looked as if it was also on track to divest itself of the anathema of modern car sensibilities – the Hummer Brand. China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery were up for paying something in the region of $150 million for the once successful Hummer brand, but no more.
Although Sichuan Tengzhong were up for the deal it seems the Chinese Government weren’t. And that matters. Without Government approval the deal couldn’t be completed. It had been reported that Sichuan Tengzhong were considering buying Hummer through a non-Chinese company at one point, but it’s probably not wise to cross the Chinese Government, especially if you want to continue in business in China. So the deal is dead.
Why did the Chinese Government kill the deal? Hard to say, and as they’re not used to even considering explanations for their actions we’ll probably never know for sure. Sichuan Tengzhong non-existent experience in road going vehicle production could be a part, as could the negativity a brand like Hummer could reflect on China.
But this looks like it could be a replay of the ‘Saab-Spyker Saga’. GM have said they will now wind Hummer down although they have revealed they are talking to a couple of previous suitors. Who? They won’t say. So I suppose we’ll be running stories on and off for the next few months as a deal looks possible and then disappears. And it’s perfectly possible that Hummer will go the way of Saturn and actually be wiped out.
Which would be sad, but somehow apposite. A motoring death which symbolises the changing American landscape.
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