Hummer
�was a brand of trucks and�SUVs, first marketed in 1992 when�AM General�began selling a civilian version of the M998�Humvee. In 1998,�General Motors�(GM) purchased the brand name and marketed three vehicles: the originalHummer�H1, based on the military Humvee, as well as the�H2�and�H3�models that were based on smaller, civilian-market GMplatforms.
By 2008, Hummer's viability in the�economic downturn�was being questioned, and it was placed under review by GM management. Rather than being transferred to�Motors Liquidation Company�as part of the GM bankruptcy in 2009, the brand was retained by GM, in order to investigate its sale.
In 2009, a Chinese manufacturer,�Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company, announced that it would acquire Hummer, pending government approvals, but later withdrew its bid.[1]�On February 24, 2010, Reuters reported that theChinese ministry of commerce�had prevented the deal,[2]�although a ministry spokesperson denied rejecting the application, which had been stalled for eight months.[3]�At the end of February, General Motors announced it would begin dismantling the Hummer brand.[4]
GM purchase
�
In December 1999, AM General sold the brand name to General Motors, but continued to manufacture the vehicles.[10]�GM was responsible for the marketing and distribution of all Hummers produced by AM General. Shortly thereafter, GM introduced two of its own design models, the�H2�and�H3, and renamed the original vehicle H1. AM General continued to build the H1 until it was discontinued in 2006,[13]�and was contracted by GM to produce the H2. The H3 was built in Shreveport, LA alongside the�Chevrolet Colorado�and GMC Canyon pickups, with which it shared the�GMT-355�platform (modified and designated GMT-345). Hummer dealership buildings featured an over sized half�Quonset Hut�style roof, themed to the Hummer brand's military origins.[14]
By 2006, the Hummer began to be exported and sold through importers and distributors in 33 countries.[15]�On October 10, 2006, GM began producing the Hummer H3 at its�Port Elizabeth�plant in South Africa for international markets.[15]�The Hummers built there at first were only left-hand drive, but right-hand drive versions were added and exported to Australia and other markets.
The H2 was also assembled in�Kaliningrad, Russia, by�Avtotor, starting in 2006 and ending in 2009.[16]�The plant produced a few hundred vehicles annually, and its output was limited to local consumption with five dealers in Russia.
Failed sale
�
On June 1, 2009, as a part of the�General Motors bankruptcy�announcement, the company revealed that the Hummer brand would be discontinued. However, the following day GM announced that instead it had reached a deal to sell the brand to an undisclosed buyer.[20]�After GM announced that same day that the sale was to an undisclosed Chinese company,[21]�CNN and the New York Times identified the buyer of the Hummer truck unit as China-based�Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company�Ltd.[20][22][23]Later that day, Sichuan Tengzhong itself announced the deal on their own website.
On January 6, 2010, GM CEO�Ed Whitacre�said he hoped to close the deal with Tengzhong by the end of that month.[24]�On February 1, 2010, it was announced that Sichuan and General Motors had agreed to extend the deadline until the end of February as Sichuan tried to get approval by the Chinese government.[25]�It was also revealed that the price tag of the Hummer brand was $150 million.[26]
Later, on February 24, 2010, GM announced the Tengzhong deal had collapsed and the Hummer brand would soon shut down.[27]�There were reports that Sichuan Tengzhong might pursue the purchase of the Hummer brand from GM by purchasing it privately through the company's new J&A Tengzhong Fund SPC, a private equity investment fund owned by an offshore entity that was recruiting private investors to buy into its acquisition plan.[28]�The financial markets posed problems for established borrowers and even more for Tengzhong, a little-known company from western China, at the same time as the potential value of the Hummer brand continued to decline given high fuel prices and weak consumer demand.
Production
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AM General�Hummer H1 Assembly Plant,�Mishawaka, Indiana�� 500,000-square-foot plant (46,000�m2) opened 1984 to build HMMWV (HUMVEE) and began production of the H1 in 1992. Production ceased 2006.
AM General Hummer H2 Assembly Plant, Mishawaka, Indiana � 673,000-square-foot plant (62,500�m2) opened 2002. H2 production ended 2009.
General Motors South Africa�Struandale Assembly Plant,�Port Elizabeth,�Eastern Cape, South Africa � built in 1996, expanded to 75,625 square meters (814,000�sq�ft) to build H3 models. H3 production ended 2009.
General Motors�Shreveport Operations,�Shreveport, Louisiana�� in 2005, to accommodate the production of the H3, an additional 296,000 square feet (27,500�m2) was added to plant built by GM in 1981. In July 2009, GM had shut down Hummer production of the H3, but the automaker had a special fleet order from�Avis Rent a Car System.[35]
Avtotor�Kaliningrad, Russia � licensed version of H2 starting from 2006 and production ended in 2009.