HUMMER, no thank you, not interested ...!

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

India | Wednesday, 20 August

"No, Thank you," India's Mahindra & Mahindra tells GM's Hummer



By Sandeep Singh



Posted 20 August 2008 @ 08:52 am GMT



India's largest utility vehicles maker, Mahindra & Mahindra said it is not interested in buying General Motor's (GM) iconic Hummer brand.

According to Anand Mahindra, vice chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra, the company is not interested in acquiring Hummer and is rather keen on pushing its own models into the key US market.

"I'd like to categorically state that we are not pursuing Hummer. We are pursuing our own models strategy and we do not want to tarnish our lean warrior strategy," Mahindra said.

Struggling with an economic downturn in the US, GM, which lost more than $51 billion over the past three years, said in June that it was reviewing the Hummer brand, putting the loss-making expensive oil guzzling vehicle on the block. Since then, the world's second largest automaker had reportedly held preliminary talks with China's sport utility vehicle (SUV) maker Hunan Changfeng Motor Co. and Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska's car unit, Russian Machines but both had backed off, underlining the difficulty the US automaker is facing in offloading Hummer, whose US sales fell 40 percent in the first half of 2008.

News that GM plans to sell Hummer also evinced little interest from other Chinese automakers, including market leader and GM's China partner SAIC Motor Corp and number three Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Group Co, which makes cars with Honda Motor and Toyota Motor.

According to market analysts, besides present economic turmoil, GM' problems have been compounded due to high fuel prices.

"This is the worst possible time for GM to try to sell this asset," said Shelly Lombard, an analyst at corporate bond research firm Gimme Credit LLC. "This is an environment where people are kind of scared. They're looking forward for a very short period of time and not inclined to make big, expensive, going-against-the-grain bets."

"I'll be fascinated to see who ends up buying Hummer, if anyone. Hummer is not only far too expensive compared to similar off-roaders but also it is not practical buy especially with oil prices running near an all-time high. Given the state of the economy, the credit markets, and gas prices, it wouldn't be surprising to see GM forced to keep it," said Tom Van Praet, an analyst at investment firm Golden Taurus Financial.

"Fuel prices have changed buyers' attitudes," said Kevin Reale, automotive analyst at Endeca Technologies. "Unless someone is going to acquire it for military use, I just don't see it being a viable product line."

"I think it's going to be quite difficult" for GM to sell Hummer, said Joseph Phillippi, president of marketing research firm Auto Trends Consulting Inc. in Short Hills, N. J. "It gets really tough to see who might step up."

"Hummer needs a complete product overhaul," said Erich Merkle, automotive consultant at Crowe Chizek. "Then again, if you do a complete overhaul, you would take Hummer away from what defines it and makes it the brand that it is."

In a separate development, Mahindra, which lost out to rival Tata Motors in the race to buy Ford Motor Co.'s Land Rover and Jaguar earlier this year, said it plans to launch a small pickup truck and an eco-friendly fuel-efficient SUV in the US market during the second half of 2009.

Mahindra, which has forayed into India's two-wheeler market by buying Kinetic Motor last month, acquired 51 percent stake in a joint venture with Chinese tractor maker Jiangsu Yueda Yancheng Tractor Manufacturing Co. earlier this week, a move that is expected to make the Indian company become the No.1 tractor manufacturer in the world.

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

AND THEN

GM kills Hummer sales rumors, but keeps options open





Posted Today 02:00 PM by Scott_Evans
Category: Auto News, Hummer




GM General Manager Martin Walsh has spoken out today to tamp down rumors about Hummer. Official word from Walsh is that GM has not yet asked anyone for offers or had any discussions with potential buyers.


Ever since CEO Rick Wagoner announced in June that GM was looking to either revamp or sell the struggling SUV maker, rumors have been flying about possible suitors. However, those rumors have been dropping like flies lately, as more and more rumored buyers have announced they're not actually interested. Today, Walsh put them all to rest in a video sent to US dealers.

"GM did receive expressions of interest from various entities," said Walsh, "But we have never solicited offers and we have not negotiated with any parties."

In the video, Walsh also dismissed rumors of sales to Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and Oleg Deripaska as "just speculation" and denied reports that GM is trying to buy out several Hummer dealerships.

So, the million dollar question now is: what will actually happen? Hummer sales are down 44 percent this year according to Autodata Corp. and Hummer dealerships had a larger supply than the industry average for trucks and SUVs as of August first. Given that GM has cancelled individual models with better sales than Hummer's current 18,035 through July, it's likely the end is getting very near, unless the H3 SUT can drastically turn things around for the brand long associated with excessive size and poor fuel economy.