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Chang Feng to join hands with Hummer

12K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Mehmet 
#1 ·
China SUV maker to join hands with Hummer.

March 25, 2008 - China's SUV and pickup maker Changfeng Motor Company and General Motors Corp's Hummer are reported to have reached an initial cooperative deal for Hummer to produce Changfeng vehicles in North America in future, Guangzhou Daily reported.

"Changfeng is set to provide the chassis to Hummer. In future Hummer will take the responsibility of assembly and sales of those vehicles under the Hummer brand in North America while Changfeng will in turn give support for Hummer's entry into the Chinese market," Changfeng CEO Chen Zhengchu said in an event marking the launch of the 2008 Mitsubishi Pajero SUV.

Changfeng assembles Mitsubishi Pajero SUVs under license in China. Mitsubishi technology formed the basis for Changfeng's own models. "But the concept and design are our own, done in cooperation with foreign companies," Chen says.

Changfeng has participated in Detroit International Auto Show for two straight years. By showing models in Detroit for two times, Changfeng has got a feel for U.S. consumer needs and tastes, he adds.

Currently Changfeng's product portfolio covers Leopard and Kylin SUV series. In 2007, Changfeng sold just 24,428 SUVs and pickups in China, almost no increase over the previous year.

The Hunan-based SUV maker Changfeng plans to sell 50,000 SUV vehicles and 15,000 trucks this year by launching a series of new models.
source: Gasgoo.com
 
#4 ·
GM Could Sell Hummer to Chinese Company!

13.06.2008 - General Motors could sell its troubled Hummer brand to a Chinese automaker, according to Fritz Henderson, president and chief operating officer.

"If any Chinese companies are interested in buying Hummer, it will be certainly an option for us to look at. We need to be open to all ideas," said Henderson, who was making his first trip to China since he took up his new post in March.

Henderson also emphasized that China will continue to be a major factor in GM's bid to return to profitability. A continuing interest in the Chinese market, as well as other emerging markets such as Russia and Latin America, is a top priority for GM, which is struggling with slumping sales in North America, especially of big trucks and SUVs.

With gas prices in the U.S. now averaging more than $4 a gallon, customers have shunned GM's full-size pickups and utility vehicles and shifted to fuel-efficient compact cars.

Over the past three years, GM has reported losses totaling more than $50 billion, and most auto industry analysts do not expect the automaker to return to profitability this year.

source: edmunds.com
 
#6 ·
Chang Feng will not buy Hummer

August 18, 2008 - General Motors Corp has had preliminary talks with Hunan Changfeng Motor Co on a possible sale of its Hummer brand but the Chinese sport utility vehicle (SUV) maker has backed off, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

GM, struggling against a downturn in the North American auto market and high oil prices, has explored a sale of its gas-guzzling SUV brand with potential buyers in Russia and India as well as in China, sources familiar with the situation have said.

Changfeng, partly owned by Mitsubishi Motors Corp, decided not to proceed with the talks after a tour of Hummer's U.S. production facility, as it saw only limited potential for it to market the vehicle, the source said.

"The Hummer is way too expensive for the Chinese military and demand from civilian buyers is not big enough to justify a purchase, especially with oil prices running near an all-time high," the source said.

Changfeng supplies its Leopard SUV to the Chinese military at a unit price of no more than 200,000 yuan ($29,120), only a fraction of the cost of a Hummer, according to the source.

GM's China spokesman declined to comment and a Changfeng spokesman could not immediately be reached.

Other Chinese automakers, including market leader and GM's China partner SAIC Motor Corp and number three Chinese auto maker Dongfeng Motor Group Co, which makes cars with Honda Motor and Toyota Motor, have also said they had little interest in Hummer.

GM, which lost more than $51 billion over the past three years, said in June it was reviewing the Hummer brand, which has undermined its image at a time when consumers are demanding more fuel efficiency. Hummer's U.S. sales fell 40 percent in the first half of this year.

GM Chairman Rick Wagoner told reporters last week there was significant interest in the automaker's planned sale of up to $4 billion assets including Hummer, although no deal was expected to be concluded immediately.

GM has also had exploratory talks on Hummer with India's Mahindra & Mahindra and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, according to sources familiar with the situation.

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSSHA24321320080818
 
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