It seems as though GM's faltering Hummer division is attracting at least a few unnamed buyers, according to a report by Reuters quoting CEO Rick Wagoner.
At an opening event for a new engineering center in Michigan, Wagoner mentioned his executive team is currently working quickly to seal a deal with their highest bidder. Faced with automotive customers looking for fuel saving vehicles, not Earth conquering SUV's, Hummer has been hit quite hard with lackluster sales in its domestic market and is the first GM division to get the axe as part of the automaker's recently announced $10 billion cost reduction plan.
"We have some interested buyers, and I can't tell you anything beyond that right now but we are moving as fast as we can," Wagoner said to reporters.
Added to the mix was talk of concerning the future GM's smaller Saab brand. The premium European marque has previously been expected to also be dropped as part of the companywide liquidity, but according to Wagoner, GM is standing by its jet-inspired automaker.
"Saab has been a critical part of our European portfolio and has the potential to be quite a good moneymaker for us,' Wagoner stated. "What we are planning is that in fact the next Saab will be built in North America."
Which Swedish model will be built stateside? He unfortunately was tight lipped. But he did reemphasize the company's plan to continue its offering of zero-percent financing for six years in order to lure customers into showrooms.
"What we saw last month is that while consumers are not particularly active, if you offer something you can keep sales moving," he said.
Much the opposite is happening in markets outside of America, including Latin America, Brazil, Russia, India and China (collectively referred to as BRIC), that have seen sales rise by 10 percent so far during the first half of the year.
Like Ford's recently revealed bleak second quarter earnings, the General is expected to announce its own gloomy set of U.S. sales numbers in the following weeks along with other manufacturers.
Source: Reuters