China Nixes Hummer Deal
Published: September 8th, 2009
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The Chinese government has sent back Sichuan Tenzhong’s bid for GM’s Hummer brand, reportedly due to uncertainty regarding whether Hummer’s patents were part of the deal. “I, based on the current situation, understand that it’s not in coordination with our nation’s industrial policy,” Vice Minister for Commerce Chen Jian tells Bloomberg. But, says Chen, it was not the commerce ministry that nixed the deal. A different “relevant department is currently reviewing and has expressed opposition,” Chen said. It seems Chen was probably referring to the National Development and Reform Commission. GM and Tenzhong both claim to still be pursuing the deal. [Hat Tip: ohsnapback]
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1. There's something patentable on a Hummer? 2. China cares about patents? ...error...does not compute....
TOSH EXACTLY... Why buy the HUMMER brand when you could simply rip it off like you do to virtually everything else.
So, even the Godless Commies come out of the ether occasionally. This sounds like a smokescreen, however. There couldn't be any question about "Hummer intellectual property" that wasn't clear when this charade began. AM General always owned whatever IP there was; GM never had anything but marketing rights, if I read all the stories correctly. Nothing has changed. So, did the Chinese realize that this brand is deader than dead, or are they just chiseling on the price?
How can you sell off Hummer to Chinese without giving them full use of the GMT900 platform (and whatever the Colorado/H3 Platform is called) It would be like Ford selling off Mercury to the Chinese. A couple of facelifted trucks that were made for one generation with a licensed name does not a division make. Stupid.