Aircooled VW South Africa

General Motors will halt production of Hummer bye bye GMSA

General Motors will halt production of right-hand drive Hummers in South Africa after the troubled car maker entered into a memorandum of understanding with a buyer for the Hummer brand.

According to a statement released by General Motors SA on Tuesday, the new owner will consolidate the assembly of all Hummer vehicles in Shreveport, United States.

All right-hand drive Hummers for GM's world market have been assembled in SA.

"Since all engineering and design on Hummer is developed in the US and 95% of components are sourced from abroad, the impact on South African operations is minimal," the statement read.

GMSA said the move will not result in further job losses, as the probable relocation was taken into account before GMSA embarked on its restructuring strategy in July 2008.

According to a statement released in May 2009, 300 permanent workers and 1 400 contract workers have either been retrenched or received voluntary packages.

GMSA said it will continue to sell Hummer vehicles at its dealerships and honour all guarantees on previously sold vehicles.

Tuesday's announcement came after GM applied for US bankruptcy protection on Monday.

A so-called Chapter 11 bankruptcy application enables the company to restructure under court protection and prevents creditors from seizing its assets.