In showrooms this summer

The HUMMER brand is arriving in the UK with the opening of the first dedicated HUMMER showroom this week. HUMMER will begin selling a right-hand drive H3 in the summer.

Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman, global product development, unveiled a prototype right-hand drive H3 during an opening ceremony at the Bauer Millett HUMMER facility in Manchester. ¡°HUMMER¡¯s iconic design and unparalleled off-road capabilities appeal to a wide audience globally. We are determined to build upon the brand¡¯s unique recognition in Europe and especially here in the UK,¡± said Lutz.

Bauer Millett, the UK¡¯s sole HUMMER licensee since 2002, has been in business since 1973 and has been associated with General Motors since 1988. Several more dedicated HUMMER showrooms are expected to be opened in coming months in other parts of the country.

GM acquired the rights to the HUMMER brand in late 1999, and since then, HUMMER sales have grown from around 1,000 vehicles in 2000 to more than 82,000 in 2006. The H3 made its debut in North America in May 2005 and helped make HUMMER one of the fastest-growing truck brands in the United States by the end of 2006. With its smaller, more efficient package, the H3 made the brand accessible to more customers, while still retaining the characteristics that make a HUMMER unique: iconic design and unparalleled off-road performance.

In addition to growth in the United States, HUMMER has shown significant expansion around the globe. In Europe, where Kroymans Corporation has the exclusive rights to import and distribute HUMMER vehicles in 27 European countries, sales have more than tripled from 624 in 2005 to 2,006 in 2006.

While all previous H3s have been assembled in GM's North American facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, the new international H3, intended for most markets outside of North America, is being assembled at the Struandale Assembly Facility in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where GM invested more than $100 million to prepare for production of the H3.

Hummer H3

Since the beginning, HUMMER vehicles have been in a class of their own, with extreme style and capability, unmatched by the competition. The latest chapter in the story is the HUMMER H3, designed in response to demand from global markets for a premium everyday driving vehicle, offering the legendary HUMMER performance.