Thursday, February 25, 2010

Hummer Sale Scrapped

The sale of General Motors' Hummer brand to a Chinese manufacturer has been scrapped. GM said it will continue to field offers for the company, but buyers would have to act soon.

"In the early phases of the wind-down, we'll entertain offers and determine their viability, but that will have to happen in pretty short order," GM spokesman Nick Richards told the Associated Press.

GM said Wednesday that its bid to sell Hummer to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. fell through. The Chinese manufacturer said it failed to get clearance from regulators in Beijing within the proposed timeframe for the sale.

GM will continue to honor warranties for current Hummer owners.

"We are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed," said John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances. "GM will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner."

GM did not disclose a timeframe for winding down the brand, which employs 3,000 people in the U.S. Hummer will be the second division after Saturn that GM failed to sell as planned. Its one successful sale was Swedish car brand Saab, which is going to Dutch carmaker Spyker Cars NV in a $74 million deal.

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