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> Opel and Hummer get new owners.
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Posted 2009-06-05 |
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General Motors has sold its Opel and Hummer brands to new owners as part of the American car giant's filing for bankruptcy protection this week. Magna International, the Canadian carparts maker was chosen to rescue GM's Opel division, and plans to revamp the model lineup and return the business to profit by 2011.
Opel, whose Astra competes with Volkswagen's Golf, "has lots of new cars in the pipeline," Magna said. Detroit based GM sold a majority stake in Opel , including the Vauxhall brand in the UK, as part of a global reorganisation.
GM also announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding to sell its Hummer brand to Chinese firm Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery. As predicted this brings to an end Hummer H3 production in South Africa, with future H3s to be imported. The H3 has been assembled for the local and export markets at GMSA's Port Elizabeth plant since 2006, but future Hummer assembly will be consolidated into a single location at Shreveport in the US.
GMSA said it would not otherwise be affected. Steve Koch, CEO of GMSA said, "We continue to generate our own cash and are responsible for our own viability. We are a self sustaining operation and as such will continue to operate as normal." Taken from Mecury Motoring section June 4-5 2009. |
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