Hummers for The People!

Comrades, start your engines! Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company, Ltd. of the People’s Republic of China bought the Hummer division of General Motors at Detroit’s big bankruptcy sale.

This year Tengzhong will build Hummers where labor is cheap and compliant — Louisiana —  but the firm is located in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in southwestern China. Tengzhong makes construction equipment, not cars, and local firms make low-speed, three-wheeled farm vehicles (a Hummer could haul a half dozen of them).

While dealmakers talk up the agreement, there are naysayers on both continents. Nationalistic Americans may be reluctant to purchase Hummers; thrifty Chinese motorists may shun the notorious gas-guzzlers. Some notes on the Hummer deal:

“What China Gets From Bailing Out Hummer,”  Rick Newman, U.S.News & World Report.

 “Chinese Government May Scuttle Tengzhong’s Hummer Bid,” Tony O’Kane, The Motor Report.

“How do the Chinese Feel About Buying Hummer?” Matt Hardigree, Jalopnik.

“Will the Hummer really fit in China?” David Pierson, Los Angeles Times.

“Tengzhong faces challenge of reviving Hummer brand — U.S. experts,” Jing Zhao Cesarone, Xinhua News Agency.

“China’s Lumena says chairman may join Hummer deal,” Reuters via CNBC.

 

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Tags: cars, China, economy, financial crisis, General Motors, GM, Hummer, Tengzhong