GM hums along

GENERAL MOTORS will produce its newly-launched sports utility vehicle, the Hummer H3, for the European, Asian-Pacific, Middle Eastern and African markets in its Port Elizabeth factory.
The plant will be the only facility outside of the US to assemble the vehicle, which is a commercial derivative of the well-known Humvee military vehicle.
According to GM’s vice-president Latin America, Africa and the Middle East Maureen Kempston-Darkes, the six-year export contract is worth R18-billion. Kempston-Darkes said that production would begin in the last quarter of next year and could ramp-up to 10 000-units a year. Both right-hand and left-hand models will be assembled at the plant.