Hummer sold to Chinese buyer

Shenzhen Evening News
June 3, 2009

Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery (腾中重工), a privately-owned Chinese road equipment manufacturer, has signed a memorandum of understanding with General Motors to buy its Hummer off-road vehicle unit. The information, confirmed by GM, was released by the Chengdu-based company on its website.

Despite its fast expansion through a series of acquisition in recent years, Tengzhong, which was registered in January, 2005, after its acquisition of Changdian Electric, remains a obscure name even in China. Hummer vehicles enjoy high brand recognition, and their masculine image and luxurious styling are quite popular among Chinese nouveau riche. Stories of wedding parties using a motorcade of Hummers (here and here, for example), pop up on the media quite often.

The story was widely reported by today’s newspapers, including the Shenzhen Evening News. There has been no information on the deals’ price tag, nor of a specific acquisition date, although the transaction is scheduled to be done by the end of September.

The paper’s top headline concerns the A(H1N1) flu. In an open letter, all Shenzhen students returning home from abroad are suggested to stay at home and avoid contact with people for seven days in order to minimize the risk of infecting others. According to the report, all five confirmed cases in the city are students who study overseas.

Yesterday, newspapers reported that Red Bull sold in mainland China was cocaine-free. Today, the Shenzhen Evening News reports that three batches of Red Bull drinks tested positive for cocaine in Hong Kong. The density of the dissolved chemical was 10 times greater than what was discovered earlier in Taiwan, but is still harmless, according to Hong Kong authorities.

However, a second round of tests conducted yesterday in Hong Kong found no traces of cocaine in Red Bull, the government announced today.