Hummer CEO: confident in getting approval from Chinese government

CHICAGO, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- After finalizing the agreement about the sale of Hummer, James Taylor, the Chief Executive Officer of General Motor's legend brand Hummer, showed his strong confidence that the deal will be approved by the Chinese government despite a large amount of doubt coming from China.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, when asked whether GM and Tengzhong coming to an final agreement means that he has much confidence to get approval from Chinese government, Mr. Taylor's answer was "exactly."

"I think when Chinese government sees the business plan we have, and sees the opportunity of the next generation of Hummer products, it will be very supportive of this," added Taylor.

Just several hours before this interview, GM and Tengzhong announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement that will allow Tengzhong to acquire GM's premium all-terrain HUMMER brand.

However, the agreement does not mean that Tengzhong has managedto acquire the legend brand as the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals or review by government agencies in the U.S. and China.

On June 2 GM and Tengzhong signed the initial agreement on purchase of Hummer, but this deal raised much doubt in China for Hummer vehicles have too high energy consumption. Many analysts indicated that Chinese Commerce Department should not say ok to this deal because it is against the industrial policies.

Tengzhong, an unknown private enterprise in Sichuan province, is oppugned that it is not strong enough to buy so famous a brand.

However, Tengzhong and GM ignored those criticisms and finalized the agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tengzhong will acquire the ownership of the HUMMER brand, trademark and tradenames, as well as specific IP license rights necessary for the manufacture of HUMMER vehicles. The Chinese company will also assume the existing dealer agreements relating to HUMMER's dealership network.