As the news of Hummer’s sale to a widely unknown Chinese maker of cement mixers and bridge pontoons hit the wires, James Taylor was on a plane to Chengdu, China. The city, close to the golden triangle was hitherto more famous for its illicit substances and certain kinds of clubs. Now, it will be Hummer Central. Hummer CEO James Taylor (no relation to Sweet Baby James), went to Chengdu to shake hands with his new employers. They’ll keep him for now.
Taylor will also assure local officials in Chengdu and Deyang, where Tengzhong is building a new base, that China’s hinterlands have made a great leap forward: Tengzhong is the first Chinese car company to have bought themselves an American car company.
Even the usually stodgy state-owned news agency Xinhua can’t help it, and implants their tongue in their officious cheek. Chengdu can use Hummer, says Xinhua, because “statistics from local vehicle management section showed that Hummer vehicles are only owned by about 10 people in Sichuan’s capital Chengdu currently.”
The deal is not a laughing matter.
“We’ve been in talks with these guys for over six months,” Taylor told Automotive News [sub] in an interview. “The reality is in China you have folks that are willing to make investments all over the world and they go on a world search for a business that would be complementary for them.
“They see a lot of growth potential with this brand both inside and outside of China.”
Hummer’s 150 U.S. dealerships will be safe as long the sales goes through, Taylor said.
“This is good news for them,” Taylor said. “Nothing happens to them, and in a good way. They’re saved.”
Taylor is a bit worried about CAFE, and he’s not referring to a lack of Starbucks in Chengdu. There are more than ten of them, even in a place like Chengdu. Taylor rightly worried about the consumption of a fleet consisting solely of Hummers. Hummer’s smallest H3 gets 14 mpg city and 18 mpg highway.
“The immediate challenge is to regain our sales momentum,” Taylor said. “Then we have to go after some product changes that will get us into that space where we are compliant with new federal regulations.”
That will mean some model and powertrain changes, said Taylor. “You’ll see a broader lineup, that means more models and alternative powertrains that meet the federal regulations.” Hybrid Hummers?
Hummer will set up its own engineering shop and provide the marketing for the products worldwide, Taylor said. Where those will be located remains to be seen. In Chengdu it will be not, Taylor wants to work inside the United States. His visit to Chengdu will confirm his conviction.
The irony that the first American brand to be scooped up by the Chinese is the one that relies the most on pro-USA patriotism for marketing is both crushing and delicious.
The next step will be for Hummer to fail to meet CAFE and have to exit the US market.
How long until all Hummers sport Made in China labels? Place your bets.
I don’t get it. What are they buying?
Surely they are not getting AM General?
Why pay for the drawings of the H3 which is basically a mid size GM pick up truck / SUV?
The dealers for the most part are not free standing and part of other GM dealerships, and GM has been clear that they want no dual franchises.
It either is a scam that will never happen, or they are screwing the Chinese into paying for nothing.
The vehicles themselves are junk with no special capabilities, way too heavy, lousy fuel mileage and the aero of an brick. 100% obsolete with the new mileage rules.
Maybe Tengzhong’s plan is to build stuff like HUMMER ambulances, dump trucks, cement mixers, delivery vans, bucket trucks, and motorhomes in addition to the usual retail SUVs.
“The next step will be for Hummer to fail to meet CAFE and have to exit the US market.”
Would they have to leave or pay fines? Plus I think CAFE is excluded for low volume manufacturers.
“The vehicles themselves are junk with no special capabilities, way too heavy, lousy fuel mileage and the aero of an brick. 100% obsolete with the new mileage rules.”
Not sure about “no special capabilities”, what are you comparing them too? HUMMERs are fairly capable.
Plus, the “way too heavy” might still be an advantage for some people.
Hummer CEO James Taylor (no relation to Sweet Baby James)
Aw, c’mon!
“Sweet dreams and driving machines/Lie in pieces on the ground…”
Almost too easy…
What in the hell has happened to our country? While I was no big fan off Hummer, I’m still very concerned that we’re quickly bankrupting our country and selling what’s left to the Chinese. My son is entering the Air Force Academy this summer, and though I am fiercely proud of him and share his patriotism, I wonder sometimes what he’s going off to defend when he graduates. The Chinese own Hummer and General Motors has become a government owned enterprise…who’d a-thunk it?
I was a HUGE fan of HUMMERs when the H2 came out… until I went to my nearby GM dealership and got in one.
As huge as this piece of shit is, I couldn’t get my 6’7 body into it and everything inside was so ridiculously off.
The tire holder for the rear was an option…when the tire is inside their is no space for the 3rd row…the interior felt like cheap plastic, visibility was horrible, it was big and slow…
EVERYTHING about this truck was ridiculous.
The only thing it had going for it was its genuine off road capability such as the ability to scale 22-inch walls.
As a utlity vehicle, it has limited use but its image was really shot to shit because it is seen as an environmental problem during the unpopular iraq war when oil is considered “evil”.
If Hummers got 100 MPG City, I doubt people would hate them as much.
I believe the Chinese will make big inroads in the NA commercial and passenger market in the next decade. This is just a nice way to get their feet wet and pick up some established dealers and some existing product. Given the amounts we send over there in commerce, this purchase is pocket money for them.
Sure it will all have to be redesigned for CAFE but that’s in the future. I think the oriental mindset is much more long term than the NA MBA mentality.
I hear the chinese are planning to use Hummers as chinese school buses.
When we fight the Chinese in the next World War, they will be driving Hummers. Thanks, GM !
Hummer could still live as an off road luxury niche brand much like Land Rover. They could also dual the franchise with another Chinese manufacturer of cars. The OG H1 sold in limited numbers.
AMC-Jeep survived its bout with Renault. Ironically is was the Renault period that forced the spin-off of AM General and led to the creation of the Hummer brand in the 1st place.
Out of curiosity does anyone know about the US military contracts for Hummers? Are they being sold with this or is that a separate entity?
@tony7914,
Military HMMWV’s are still produced by AM General in South Bend, Indiana. AM General was a spin-off of American Motors Corporation.
The military HMMWV’s have no connection with the GM SUV based Hummers that are on the block now.
The military HMMWV is made by AM General and is not part of the deal. It’s also being phased out.
The H2 and H3 have no common DNA with the military version.
Quite interestingly, Wikipedia states: “There are at least two Chinese automobile manufacturers building HMMWV copies, possibly with the assistance of General Motors. Both HMMWV copies rely heavily on imported U.S.-made parts including chassis, gear box, and diesel engine. It appears that at least one company, Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DFM), has the full consent and cooperation of the General Motors Corporation. Both manufacturers claimed that they will be able to gradually increase the percentage of indigenously made content on the vehicles in the future, since the PLA is unlikely willing to accept any equipment that relies largely on foreign made parts.”
Wikipedia also states that “during the 1988 Beijing Defence Exhibition, AM General demonstrated an example of its M998 4×4 high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV) to the People’s Liberation Army. The vehicle was reportedly left in China after the exhibition closed for further testing and evaluation. The PLA did not show much interest initially due to the vehicle’s high unit price and maintenance costs,” This changed after Desert Storm. Now, the EQ2050 and SQF 2040 Chinese “copies” are based “on imported AM General Hummer H1 chassis. The DFM EQ2050 is powered by a Dongfeng licensed built Cummins EQB150-20 110kW/2,700R turbo-charged diesel, but it can also be fitted with the U.S.-made V8 diesel originally designed for HMMWV.”
If this is true (and blatant lies rarely go unchallenged on Wikipedia) then the military genie has long been out of the bottle. The blather about military secrets comes 20 years too late.
Folks, there is nothing secret about a HMMWV. There is no super technology or design features. It’s a truck (period). It’s value, and what GM paid AM General for and now China to GM is it’s image and (for China) the manufacturing/sales base.
The image purchased is of the H2 and H3, not the HMMWV – though it would be easy enough to build them to the military specs if you wanted to spend the money for a less roadworthy yet more expensive vehicle.
Have no fear, whiff the US has to face down China, they will not be looking down the barrels (so to speak) of their own weapons (HMMWV’s). What’s to fear is the billion chinamen in Toyota Hilux!
@skor :
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Thank you, I wasn’t sure if that was going to be part of the sale or not, I appreciate you clearing that up for me. I was thinking more of jobs than technology.