GM Scraps HUMMER Sale, Kills the Brand

After months of negotiations and denial that HUMMER might be killed if the deal with Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. fails to go through, General Motors today confirmed that it will actually wind down the business as no agreement between the involved parties has been reached.

Just as usual, General Motors said it will continue to honor HUMMER warranties and provide service support plus spare parts to current owners around the world.

“One year ago, General Motors announced that we were going to divest HUMMER, as part of focusing our efforts on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac going forward. 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," 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."

Obviously, the decision is expected to led to an avalanche of criticism from HUMMER supporters, as the often-considered an American icon is the third brand to be killed under GM's ownership following Pontiac and Saturn.

HUMMER and Tengzhong reached an agreement back in October, with the Chinese company to take control of an 80 percent stake within the brand. People around the world criticized the deal, as most of them said that Tengzhong, an industrial machinery manufacturer, doesn't have the experience needed to operate such a large brand.