Hummer (stylized as HUMMER) was a brand of trucks and SUVs, first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. In 1998, General Motors (GM) purchased the brand name from AM General and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the military Humvee, as well as the new H2 and H3 models that were based on smaller, civilian-market GM platforms.
By 2008, Hummer's viability in the economic downturn was being questioned, and it was placed under review by GM management. Rather than being transferred to the Motors Liquidation Company as part of the GM bankruptcy in 2009, the brand was retained by GM, in order to investigate its sale.
In 2009, a Chinese manufacturer, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company, announced that it would acquire Hummer, pending government approvals, but later withdrew its bid. On February 24, 2010, Reuters reported that the Chinese ministry of commerce had prevented the deal, although a ministry spokesperson denied rejecting the application, which had been stalled for eight months.At the end of February, General Motors announced it would begin dismantling the Hummer brand.
Although the automaker announced two days later that it had been approached with new offers, by April 2010, any sale became unlikely, as inventory was depleted and Hummer dealerships began shutting down.After filling a rental-car fleet order, the last Hummer H3 rolled off the line at Shreveport on May 24, 2010.
The manufacturer of the Hummer H1 and H2, AM General, lost their bid to build the HMMWV's replacement for the U.S. military in 2015, to Oshkosh Corporation.
On January 30, 2020, General Motors released a series of short teaser videos revealing the return of Hummer. The short spots tease a 30-second Super Bowl ad featuring NBA superstar LeBron James. The teasers confirm the nameplate's return -- this time not as a separate brand, but as two models, an electric pickup truck and SUV, to be sold under the GMC brand as the "GMC Hummer EV.". According to the teasers, the production EV will feature 1,000 horsepower, hit 60 mph in 3 seconds and is scheduled to launch in late 2021. While the new Hummer EV was scheduled to be revealed on May 20, 2020, concerns over the coronavirus pandemic have forced the reveal to be pushed back until a later date.
