Polluting Hummer being kept out of China

The article is about the sale of the Hummer brand from GM to a Chinese company. The key question for the Chinese takeover candidate is whether the Hummers will be allowed in its native country. The key issue in this matter is ofcourse the extreme fuel consumption of the car. Hummer originally is a subsidiary of General Motors. As I presume we all know, GM has had quite some financial problems. This is the reason why it started to sell some of its less profitable activities or brands. The reasons why the sales have run way back is because these cars consume an awful lot of fuel and oil prices rose significantly and because overall sales have decreased enormously. Hummer is one of those non profit making activities and that is why GM had to look for candidates who wanted to take over this part of the company.

Fortunately, a few companies had their mind set on taking over Hummer. One of those takeover candidates was the one I mentioned in the beginning of my blog message, namely Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery. Negotiations about a possible takeover started very promising but then they had to wait for an approval from the Chinese government. As we can read in the posted article, the Chinese government doesn't approve the sale from GM to STHIM for a takeover bid between 150 and 200 million dollars. The two car companies didn't get permission because - so experts claim - the Chinese government has troubles accepting the high amount of fuel consumption. This is a hot topic, because China is being criticised for its hesitating behaviour when it comes to reducing the emission of carbon dioxide. That's also because the Chinese authorities have stated that the car industry should focus on producing cars that are less polluting for the environment.

There also is some commotion about the situation of the overtaking company because that company is known as a production company for heavy industrial machinery. This can bring us to the conclusion that this company has no experience in producing cars whatsoever. The company has never even done business outside of China.

When I first read this article, it instantly got me thinking about climate change and environmental pollution. Because this is a very hot topic these days, I thought it could be interesting to write a blog message about this specific article. I could have written about the station of Antwerp welcoming Starbucks or the other big topic on the posted page or even about the short news more to the right of the page. Another reason why I really wanted to write something about this article is because Hummer has always attracted my attention. Not because I find this brand more exclusive or more posh than any other brand in the world or not because for some people it's being used as an image builder. No, just because I think these cars are typical cars for US citizins. Americans have always really been into security, power and sheer exuberance. In other words, what they really want is BIG things that are safe and powerfull. Everybody with a clear sense mind will already have either seen or experienced that. Their awkward weapon policy and the war on Iraq are just two of the never ending list of possible examples.

Maybe you're thinking: Okay... But what's your point? Well, the point is that I just don't have a clue why the humble Chinese jetset would want to purchase a Hummer or anything like it. In my opinion this a specific American product. Another possible problem that could occur is the lack of mobility and parking opportunities in big Chinese cities. It's also important to know that these 'trucks' are exempt from many DOT safety regulations.

I really find this a great example of the fact that the BRIC-countries are simply taking over the world economy. The abreviation BRIC stands for Brasil, Russia, India and China. If even an American symbol, like the Hummer, is looking to relocate from the US economy to the booming Chinese economy, I really find this an extraordinary fact in the history of national economies.


Sources: Hummer.com