Hummer to become more environmentally-friendly

Hummer will commit to its target of becoming the first automaker to offer alternative fuel powertrains across its entire vehicle lineup after its pending sale to Tengzhong.

Analysts still have mixed views on how well the green Hummer will play in China.

Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery signed a definitive agreement with GM Friday to acquire the US automaker's premium all-terrain Hummer business.

According to the agreement, Hummer will add E85 FlexFuel capability to 2010 H3 and H3T models, GM, Hummer's parent company, said in a press release. The SUV maker has already introduced E85 into its H2 and H2 SUT models in the US.

E85 consists of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline and is a mostly renewable fuel that can be made from biodegradable wastes and plants, GM said on its website.

In the US, there are already over 7 million E85-capable vehicles on the road, according to GM.

However, due to certain regulations and the lack of infrastructure, ethanol fuel is not used widely in China, said Zhu Xiaoqing, communication manager of the Denmark-based Novozymes (China) Investment, a leading innovator of bioethanol fuels.

There are only a few provinces trying out E10 (10% ethanol), and E85 is far from application, though experiences in Western countries show that E85 can significantly reduce car emissions, Zhu said.

On the other hand, if Hummer, which boasts it is designed to handle extreme off-road conditions, adopts E85, then its off-road performance will be negated, Zhu believed.

"It's rather a waste to drive an off-road vehicle with a gasoline engine in a city," he remarked.


The H2's ethanol FlexFuel engine can generate 393 horsepowers and 415 pound-feet of torque, according to Hummer's website.

Although it's less expensive to build the infrastructure for biofuel cars than for electric cars, in the long term, highly efficient electric vehicles, plus better urban planning, can be more suitable for saving energy and protecting the environment, he added.

Zhang Chenhao, analyst with Shanghai-based independent consultancy JLM Pacific Epoch, echoed Zhu's view.

He said that the regulators were perhaps more concerned about whether GM would transfer its new energy technologies to Tengzhong after the sale.

GM said in the press release that the Sichuan-based heavy machinery maker will also acquire specific IP licensing rights necessary for the manufacture of Hummer vehicles, without elaborating.

"Chinese policymakers are more oriented toward developing hybrid electric vehicles," Zhang said.

The Hummer transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals, and there are already debates whether the Chinese government should reject the deal on energy concerns.

However, since the off-road brand focuses on a niche market, fuel efficiency improvement on the SUV won't make much difference to the energy-saving plan of the entire auto industry, said Li Haiying, an analyst with Jilin North Automobile Industry Information Development.

source: news.alibaba