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India’s Mahindra leading candidate to buy Hummer?

06/17/2008, 1:03 PM

By Drew Johnson

With gas prices now hovering around $4 a gallon in the U.S., General Motors is looking to unload its gas-guzzling Hummer brand as quickly as it is trying to add fuel efficient models. GM CEO Rick Wagoner announced earlier this month that the iconic off-road brand was up for “strategic review”, and it looks as though Hummer could be packing its bags for India.

A report surfaced just days ago that GM was shopping Hummer to India’s Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, and an insider has revealed that Mahindra is the likely front runner for the brand’s acquisition.

“Mahindra is very keen on acquiring the Hummer, because of many reasons, but I can’t go into all of them but for one it is the most seen vehicle on TV in any country, these days at least the military version of it,” a high-ranking official at Mahindra told just-auto. “It is still too early to talk of prices and timeframes but we are in the process of designing a civilian version of the Mahindra AXE and owning the vehicle it was modeled after would make a lot of sense.”

The AXE is a Mahindra-built military vehicle that looks very similar to GM’s Hummer vehicles.

Hummer has seen its retail sales decrease drastically over the past few months, with overall sales down almost 40 percent this year. However, Mahindra’s current lineup is SUV heavy, so the acquisition would seem to make sense.

Analysts predict Hummer could fetch about $750 million.

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06/17, 1:14 PM

posted by:

HemiRoadRunner

That’s the only way indians can get a hummer, or did you mean the SUV?

06/17, 1:16 PM

posted by:

Fletch

I called this last week when that Mahindra was driving around Detroit. They need a dealership network.

06/17, 1:31 PM

posted by:

Need4SSpeed

yeah you did Fletch, so did I think NoNameDenton1 in another posting before it.

I think Mahindra would do well with Hummer, I just googled the Mahindra AXE, and it’s def a HUMVEE rip. But I think especially with Mahindra expanding they could really use the network.

Since Hummers are built at UAW-GM plants here in the states and built along Tahoe, Suburban and Canyon, and Colorado they won’t get plant capacity unless they make a deal with GM but we’ll see.

06/17, 1:45 PM

posted by:

kitko

Are they going to buy one Hummer or more of them? :-)

06/17, 1:58 PM

posted by:

hateful83

It’s a shame to see this storied american brand go to india. To have an american military vehicle built overseas seems crazy. Another sign of the times I suppose.

06/17, 1:59 PM

posted by:

brassmonkey

Why does every story about a vehicle with low mpg start with, “With gas prices now hovering around $4 a gallon in the U.S……” We know what the hell gas prices are. Hummers (the vehicle) are really useless for civilian use. Now the other kind of hummer……

06/17, 2:07 PM

posted by:

xyunya

If Hummers for military made in India does not sound right what about Hummers made in USA of Indian steel alloy? Is it better? Using Chinese bolts and screws and all other small hardware (fasteners, belts, pulleys)? Global economy started very long time ago.

06/17, 2:07 PM

posted by:

jumpoffit

now india can use the Great Khali from the WWE to be their spokes person like Arnold did for H1

06/17, 2:08 PM

posted by:

Need4SSpeed

hateful83, AM General is the manufacturer of the HUMVEE which was converted to the original Hummer (known as H1), and then GM bought the civilian division from AM General and created the “Hummer” brand. So AM General still owns the part of Hummer that makes the HUMVEE.

06/17, 2:10 PM

posted by:

johnnycanuck

Don’t forget brassmonkey, the other kind of hummer is also a staple of certain members of the professional community.

06/17, 2:16 PM

posted by:

hateful83

Thanks Need4SSpeed, and yes xyunya in my opinion it’s the lesser of 2 evils. (But it turns out to be a non issue after all)

06/17, 2:30 PM

posted by:

Astonman12

It’s sad that this extremely American brand could no longer be American owned in the near future. However, I do see why GM would want to sell them.

06/17, 3:03 PM

posted by:

xyunya

Actually it is totaly non-issue since Pentagon is looking for bid for a new vehicle: bigger and more fire proof with mileage 4 mpg vs 10 mpg of original Hummer. How did we win WWII with original 64 HP Jeep with 30 mpg?

06/17, 3:14 PM

posted by:

Need4SSpeed

Well it is and it isn’t. The Federal Government’s 15 billion dollar bid for the next JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) is still up for grabs. From what I’ve read the front-runners for the contract seem to be a joint operation by General Dynamics Land Systems and AM General. So I’m sure AM General is going to want to get this next contract as well.

06/17, 3:45 PM

posted by:

JoshyLofty

i’d rather mahindra get hummer personally & since they like diesels… maybe my diesel hybrid idea could come reality. too bad i don’t have 750 mil or i’d make it happen myself!

06/17, 4:10 PM

posted by:

shaver

It seems like LLN doesn’t know that the Hummer brand is just a brand and dealer network. They have little if nothing to do AM General or the military or the H1.

06/17, 4:19 PM

posted by:

inline6

Wow…has the whole world gone ignorant?

GM DOES NOT BUILD THE MILITARY HUMVEE. That product is built by AM General, which sold the rights to market the civilian version, as well as the rights to the HUMMER brand to GM.

The only HUMMER vehicles GM has the intellectual rights to are the H2 and H3. They just sell the H1 for AM General, which is now only building them to order.

So, to recap, the HUMMVEE is owned and built by AM General (a former subsidiary of AMC, which designed the HUMMVEE). It’s still being produced for military use.

GM is simply selling the HUMMER brand. Which is different.

06/17, 6:03 PM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

Like this would stop people from buying Hummer. Personally I think the brand should stay with GM and GM could try and fix it and not do what Ford did to Jag/Land Rover.

06/17, 7:12 PM

posted by:

1981blueZ28

Hey having Military Vehicles built over see is not bad at all. Canada has the…… O wait Canada scraped the G-Wagon because it was a pos. Now they build their own ARMOURED PATROL VEHICLE called the APV from General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada.

http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/English/2_display.asp?product=73

Then again Canada Uses the German Leopard 2A6M Tank and that tank is the best tank in the world. (As said by World top ten tanks on the Discovery Channel.)

06/18, 12:11 AM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

Personally I prefer the Merkava tank from Israel, it is a great tank and can hold infantry.

06/18, 12:32 AM

posted by:

1981blueZ28

The Ukraines New T-84 Main Battle tank is reall nice. I have read a lot of nice things about it. Also Ukraine is scraping the AK-74 for there own Ukrainian made Weapon called the Vepr

http://81.30.162.23/students/works/web_design/024/vepr1.jpg

06/18, 3:25 AM

posted by:

Got Handling?

Tanks are slow and can’t handle, so I couldn’t give a **** about them… and I would say exactly the same for Hummers with a capital “H”. I do like the other kind though – that’s receiving not giving, don’t get excited TugJob.

06/18, 3:27 AM

posted by:

Got Handling?

Mahindra are situated in and close to markets where that type of vehicle is needed on an everyday basis, and they do a lot of trade with countries who will still be able to afford to run them for many years yet, so there is more to this deal that makes sense than just the US dealer network.

06/18, 3:29 AM

posted by:

Got Handling?

I imagine there must be a lot of lovely Hummer salesmen who are VERY excited about the prospect of selling Mahindra’s utility vehicles soon…

06/18, 4:32 AM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

1981blueZ28, the Ak-74 is a nice weapon though, improved on the old 47s (which are still popular), even other countries copied the design (Israel has one as its main assault rifle known as the Galil). I know Russia will replace the 74 with a gun where the only recoil is the barrel. I see that Ukranian weapon is a bullpup design, there are some pros and cons to it.

06/18, 10:04 AM

posted by:

Need4SSpeed

yeah saw the pick too. Bullpups look really cool. I love the French built FAMAS, and the Austrian Steyr Aug or the compact P98. But yeah they do have pros and cons, If they weren’t such complicated guns, I think the U.S Military would adopt and utilize more of them. Personally I’ll just take a M4, and call it a day. But the newest wave of guns that the U.S Military are looking into are really cool looking, and I think a couple of them have a bullpup design actually.

yeah inline6, I said that on my 8th post.

06/18, 12:52 PM

posted by:

LamborghiniZ

I love all of these random international car brands being sold to huge Indiana conglomerates. Hummer is just “sooo American”, and soon it’ll go the way of Jag and Land Rover, which are “sooo British”, and go over to India. Funnier though for Hummer, because the British DID occupy India

06/18, 1:52 PM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

Need4SSpeed, you named one of my favorite weapons, the M4.

 
 
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