There has been so much interest in the local introduction of the Hummer H3, which is due to go on sale in South Africa next year… But at Auto Africa, the Press heard what the fascinated public really wanted to know – what the “baby” Hummer will cost.
There has been so much interest in the local introduction of the Hummer H3, which is due to go on sale in South Africa next year… But at Auto Africa, the Press heard what the fascinated public really wanted to know – what the “baby” Hummer will cost.
CARtoday.com reported recently that General Motors SA had commenced production of left-hand drive Hummer H3s (for the export market) at its Port Elizabeth plant. GM, which previously produced only Opel and Isuzu products, announced a R758-million investment in its Struandale assembly facility 18 months ago as part of its plans to expand the Hummer brand to markets outside of North America, which created the possibility of offering a global version of the H3.
On Thursday, The General announced that the Hummer H3 would be available in right-hand drive for the South African market from the second quarter of 2007 with prices starting under R500 000. H3s coming out of South Africa will have 180kW in-line Vortec 5-cylinder engines and sport a full-time four- wheel drive system with a choice of manual or automatic transmission.
The Hummer brand had, until recently, placed its main focus upon the North American market. The recent introduction of the mid-sized (an interesting term to be used for a Hummer) H3 has seen sales within the brand soar from 1 000 units in 2000 to over 60 000 units as of last year. This growth has seen the Hummer gaining more and more representation in foreign markets.
Maureen Kempson Darkes, president of GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East Region, voiced the company’s confidence in GM South Africa by stating that the Port Elizabeth-based subsidiary “demonstrated to the world that they have the people, the leadership, the technology and the skills to execute the type of automobile engineering that is required in the new global economy”.
H3’s born in the Struandale Facility find their way to Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Production in the second half of 2007 will see the introduction of right-hand drive models for South Africa and right-hand drive countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
