General Motors says it has entered into a “memorandum of understanding” to sell its off-road Hummer unit to an undisclosed bidder. The tentative sale of Hummer, which has been on the market since late last year, comes just a day after the Detroit automaker filed for bankruptcy.
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2009, the automaker says. An announcement disclosing Hummer’s new will be made later this year, assuming all goes as planned.
GM says that the sale will include a contract requiring GM to build Hummer H3s at its Shreveport, Louisiana, assembly plant through at least 2010, though it does not mention Hummer H2 production. The H2 is built in Mishawaka, Indiana, under contract by AM General – long speculated as a future owner of Hummer. AM General owned the Hummer name until selling it to GM in 1999.
Hummer’s new owner will “aggressively fund future Hummer product plans,” according to a GM release. The sale of Hummer releases GM from the burden of trying to make the off-road-ready trucks retain their capabilities while achieving the new EPA fuel efficiency standards.
“I’m confident that Hummer will thrive globally under its new ownership,” Troy Clarke, President of GM North America, said in a statement.
