The little-known Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery company expects to complete the deal to buy GM’s Hummer brand by October, Yang Yi, the company’s general manager, has said.
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He told Automotive News the current Hummer management team would be kept on and that there were no plans to build Hummers in China. Tengzhong, which makes special use vehicles and highway construction components, will not take on any of GM’s debt, said Yang.
But it wants to turn Hummer into a global brand; currently about 70% of Hummer sales are in the US and Yang said that he sees great potential in emerging markets. Tengzhong also wants to develop a more fuel-efficient ‘green’ Hummer, he said.
Automotive News reported that Tengzhong’s lack of experience in both overseas markets and in the automobile industry has prompted a flood of scepticism and even ridicule from Chinese auto executives, industry analysts and the media.
