The Wall Street Journal
General Motors Co.'s Hummer line of beefy SUVs is headed for extinction after a deal to sell the brand to a Chinese manufacturer fell apart.
Would-be buyer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. said Wednesday it failed to win approval from Chinese regulators for its $150 million bid.
GM said it will begin winding down Hummer, a brand that until a couple of years ago was one the auto maker's biggest money makers.
The Hummer sale is the latest deal to fall apart for GM as the company works to shed brands around the globe. The auto maker's efforts to sell its Saturn brand unexpectedly collapsed last year; later the company reversed plans to sell its Opel European unit after months of intense negotiations failed to produce a favorable deal.
Tengzhong's efforts to get clearance to buy Hummer became entangled in China's complicated regulatory system, according to people familiar with the situation. On Wednesday, China's Assistant Commerce Minister Wang Chao said his ministry has never received an application from Tengzhong. The company, however, said it tried and failed to obtain approval.
"Tengzhong worked earnestly to achieve an acquisition that it believed to be a tremendous opportunity to acquire a global brand at an attractive price," the company said in a statement.
GM, in a statement, said it would begin as orderly wind-down of Hummer operations. The company said it will continue to honor Hummer warranties.
"We have since considered a number of possibilities for Hummer along the way, and we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed," John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances, said in a statement.
Hummer, evolved from the military vehicle known as the Humvee, was born in 1998 amid America's growing penchant for brawny sport-utility vehicles.
GM sold 9,046 Hummer SUVs in the U.S. last year, down from more than 71,000 in 2006, before gas prices soared and big trucks fell out of favor.
GM announced in June 2008 it was looking to sell the brand and, a year later, it appeared Hummer could find a second life with Tengzhong. Chinese approval for the deal was never a sure bet, given the government's recent efforts to press Chinese auto companies to make smaller, more efficient cars.
China's auto makers have grown quickly in recent years, and several have shown aspirations to expand by buying foreign firms. At the time, GM estimated the deal would save 3,000 U.S. factory jobs. Hummer has around 370 dealers globally, including 153 in the U.S.
Would-be buyer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. said Wednesday it failed to win approval from Chinese regulators for its $150 million bid.
GM said it will begin winding down Hummer, a brand that until a couple of years ago was one the auto maker's biggest money makers.
The Hummer sale is the latest deal to fall apart for GM as the company works to shed brands around the globe. The auto maker's efforts to sell its Saturn brand unexpectedly collapsed last year; later the company reversed plans to sell its Opel European unit after months of intense negotiations failed to produce a favorable deal.
Tengzhong's efforts to get clearance to buy Hummer became entangled in China's complicated regulatory system, according to people familiar with the situation. On Wednesday, China's Assistant Commerce Minister Wang Chao said his ministry has never received an application from Tengzhong. The company, however, said it tried and failed to obtain approval.
"Tengzhong worked earnestly to achieve an acquisition that it believed to be a tremendous opportunity to acquire a global brand at an attractive price," the company said in a statement.
GM, in a statement, said it would begin as orderly wind-down of Hummer operations. The company said it will continue to honor Hummer warranties.
"We have since considered a number of possibilities for Hummer along the way, and we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed," John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances, said in a statement.
Hummer, evolved from the military vehicle known as the Humvee, was born in 1998 amid America's growing penchant for brawny sport-utility vehicles.
GM sold 9,046 Hummer SUVs in the U.S. last year, down from more than 71,000 in 2006, before gas prices soared and big trucks fell out of favor.
GM announced in June 2008 it was looking to sell the brand and, a year later, it appeared Hummer could find a second life with Tengzhong. Chinese approval for the deal was never a sure bet, given the government's recent efforts to press Chinese auto companies to make smaller, more efficient cars.
China's auto makers have grown quickly in recent years, and several have shown aspirations to expand by buying foreign firms. At the time, GM estimated the deal would save 3,000 U.S. factory jobs. Hummer has around 370 dealers globally, including 153 in the U.S.
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