GM defends HUMMER, Saab brands

In its report on first-quarter worldwide sales, General Motors made a point of highlighting the success of HUMMER and Saab as part of its 4.4 percent growth overall. The two brands have attracted criticism in recent months, notably from board member Jerry York who suggested in January that the company dump both marques.

HUMMER sales grew 202 percent over last year, largely on the strength of the new H3. While most of the growth occurred in the U.S., the company reported strong results in Canada and the Middle East, with further growth in overseas sales expected with the availability of a right-hand drive H3 later this year.

Saab sales set an all-time record, up 23.2 percent worldwide over last year, boosted by the launch of its 2.8-liter V6 turbo powerplant and its 9-5 BioPower (Sweden's best-selling ethanol vehicle). With its model lineup undergoing expansion over the last couple of years (9-7x, 9-2x, etc.) that's somewhat predictable, but still welcome news. Now, if they could just make a profit.

[Sources:Tradingmarkets.com, GM]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.








Autoblog Podcast #154: Gobbling up the News

Chris, Sam, and Dan kick out a podcast just in time for the long holiday drive.

 
 

Featured Galleries

  • 2011 BMW 5 Series sedan
  • Texas unveils new Vanity Plates
  • Spy Shots: Next-gen Buick Excelle for China
  • 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe
  • Hyundai 2.4L Theta-II GDI
  • Ginetta G50EV and John Surtees at the Channel Tunnel
  • 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser
  • Review: 2009 Infiniti G37x S Sedan
  • Quick Spin: Superformance MKIII-R
  • 2011 Buick Regal Live Unveiling
  • BMW Concept 6
  • Zenvo ST1 Details

AOL Autos

Find Your Next Car

Autoblog Video


Autoblog Green

Daily Finance

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Autoblog Spanish

Switched.com

FanHouse

Asylum