The Hummer is back? GM looks set to revive heavyweight SUV brand
15 January, 2020
Roads in the UAE already take a battering from some of the heaviest cars on the planet, but, if reports from industry insiders turn out to be correct, the biggest beast of all may be rejoining the pack.
The word is that GM is looking to revive the Hummer SUV, the vehicle broadly based on the US military’s most recognisable battlefield runabout of recent years, with a release date of 2022 for the latest version.
The car was shelved a decade ago amid criticisms it was a bit of a petrol inhaler, but that is unlikely to be an issue with the new incumbent – reports suggest the new version will be electric.
The parent company is considering selling the new model under the marketing name Hummer by GMC, according to Bloomberg.
The news agency first reported in June 2019 that a new vehicle was in the offing, but the Wall Street Journal now reckons GM is ready to move forward with the plan.
GM bought the Hummer brand in 1998.
Thereafter, sales of the model peaked in 2006 before taking a serious hit at the end of the decade as petrol prices spiralled. On the back of this, the company halted sales in 2010.
In the US, just 9,000 were sold in 2009, compared to 56,000 Hummers in 2007. Even in the UAE, dealers were feeling the hit. Ravi Nair, a sales manager at Liberty Automobiles, once the country's official distributor, told The National in 2010 that sales of all vehicles, including the Hummer, were down by 50 to 60 per cent.
There’s no inside word on whether the Middle East is set to receive delivery of the new model, but, looking at the popularity of heavyweight SUVs in the region, the smart money suggests this would be a key market for GM.
Source: www.thenational.ae
TAG(s):