File photo taken on March 11, 2009 shows Hummer CEO James Taylor (R) presenting a Hummer model to a local official in Deyang, southwest China's Sichuan Province. U.S. automaker General Motors Corp., a day after filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has a tentative deal to sell its Hummer brand to Chinese-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd., the automaker said on June 2. (Xinhua/Huang jianpei) Photo Gallery>>>

     CHICAGO, June 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. automaker General Motors Corp., a day after filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has a tentative deal to sell its Hummer brand to Chinese-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd., the automaker said Tuesday.

    According to a Detroit News report, GM did not reveal the sale price, though in a bankruptcy filing, GM said the brand is worth some 500 million U.S. dollars.

File photo taken on March 11, 2009 shows representatives of Hummer and Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd. holding talks in Deyang, southwest China's Sichuan Province. U.S. automaker General Motors Corp., a day after filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has a tentative deal to sell its Hummer brand to Chinese-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd., the automaker said on June 2. (Xinhua/Huang jianpei) Photo Gallery>>>

    The company said the deal, which includes the brand's senior management and operational team, could close by the end of the third quarter and would protect more than 3,000 manufacturing, engineering and dealership jobs across the country.

    Tengzhong also is expected to sign a long-term contract for assembly and a material supply agreement with GM.

    Privately owned Tengzhong, which is based in the Chinese province of Sichuan, is a leading domestic manufacturer of road, construction and equipment for the energy industry.

    "We will be investing in the Hummer brand and its research and development capabilities, which will allow Hummer to better meet demand for new products such as more fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S.," Tengzhong CEO Yang Yi said in a prepared statement.

A salesman passes by a Hummer at a dealer in New York, the United States, May 27, 2009. General Motors Corp (GM) announced on June 2 that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a buyer for HUMMER, its premium off-road brand, a day after it filed for bankruptcy protection.(Xinhua/Gu Xinrong) Photo Gallery>>>

    The Hummer headquarters and operations will remain in the United States, and executives plan to expand the dealer network globally, including new and underserved Chinese markets.

    "With Tengzhong's investment and strong support, we will be able to make our visions a reality," Hummer CEO James Taylor said in a prepared statement.

    White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the Obama administration, with GM's 60 percent ownership stake, will not stop it from outsourcing production to China.

A Hummer is on sale at a dealer in Flint, Michigan, the United States, May 30, 2009. General Motors Corp (GM) announced on June 2 that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a buyer for HUMMER, its premium off-road brand, a day after it filed for bankruptcy protection.(Xinhua/Gu Xinrong) Photo Gallery>>>

    Shedding Hummer is part of GM's overall restructuring plan, which also involves selling or phasing out the Saturn, Saab and Pontiac brands.

    GM acquired the brawny Hummer brand in 1999 from AM General Corp.

Hummer vehicles on sale ar seen at a dealer in New York, the United States, May 27, 2009. General Motors Corp (GM) announced on June 2 that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a buyer for HUMMER, its premium off-road brand, a day after it filed for bankruptcy protection.(Xinhua/Gu Xinrong) Photo Gallery>>>

GM announces preliminary agreement to sell Hummer 


  DETROIT, June 2 (Xinhua) -- General Motors Corp. announced on Tuesday it had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a buyer for Hummer without disclosing the buyer's name or the price.

    The deal came one day after GM, one of the world's largest automakers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The transaction is the result of GM's strategic review of the Hummer brand and the company's ongoing restructuring efforts.Full story 

Titanic of U.S.auto industry sinks along with American Dream

    DETROIT, June 2 (Xinhua) -- On the day when General Motors Corp. was established in 1908, all the spotlight was on White Star Line shipping company's announcement to build the Titanic, the world's largest ocean liner. No one had expected GM would one day become the Titanic of the United States and even the world's manufacturing industry.

    During the following 100 years, it was GM that shaped the United States, its industry, technology, business, culture and even lifestyle. Full story

Obama says U.S. gov't to invest additional $30 bln to help GM

    WASHINGTON, June 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama promised on Monday that the U.S. government will invest additional30 billion dollars in GM, which he was confident will emerge from the bankruptcy protection process quickly. Full story

Fritz Henderson says China will continue to be GM's key partner of business

    NEW YORK, June 1 (Xinhua) -- General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson said Monday that China will continue to be a key partner of business of GM.

    Speaking at a press conference in GM's New York building, Henderson said that GM's venture in China is a critical part of GM, saying its business in China in "growing very fast."

    "Our business in China continues to grow very fast, I should say at torrid pace," he said. "And we are very appreciable of that."   Full story

Iconic U.S. auto giant GM declares bankruptcy

    NEW YORK/DETROIT, June 1 (Xinhua) -- In the largest industrial bankruptcy ever seen in U.S. history, General Motors Corp., the top U.S. automaker and once the world's largest corporation, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday.

    The Detroit-based company, for decades a symbol of American manufacturing supremacy, corporate culture and even lifestyle, filed a Chapter 11 petition to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York early Monday morning.    Full story 

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis