GM to Conquer South Africa with Hummer and Cadillac

Global Expansion Pushes GMs Premium Brands As General Motors North American brands improve and grow, the brand has realized the potential of some of its more prestigious nameplates in global markets. Cadillac, Americas key luxury brand has had great success in Asian markets, in particular China, where it not only sells, but builds cars. Cadillac has also been fairly well received in Europe, after its re-launch with the Art & Science design theme. And, despite the high price of fuel across the Atlantic, Hummer is selling its H2 and H3 models. After launching brands in Europe and Asia, General Motors is looking for new ground to cover. It seems the next location on GMs map is South Africa, one of the more rapidly growing automobile markets, particularly for premium vehicles.

Earlier this week, GM announced that Cadillac would be launching a three-model range in South Africa for 2007. In pursuit of traditional German luxury brands, the Saab 9-3-based (and non-domestic) BLS compact luxury sedan, the SRX midsize crossover and the STS full-size sedan will be launched. Despite its popularity and strong sales in Europe, Asia and North America, the CTS will not be offered. Considering the Euro-centric nature of the South African luxury market, this selected portfolio range should allow Cadillac to compete effectively; since its launch, the BLS has helped increase European sales by 30-percent.

Earlier this month, General Motors announced that it would not only be selling the Hummer H3 in South Africa, but also building the midsize sport utility vehicle there. General Motors presence in South Africa has previously been mainly through the Opel brand and Isuzu, but this is changing with the addition of Cadillac and Hummer. The H3 will be built at the GM-Delta assembly plant located in Port Elizabeth, which GM gained 100 percent ownership of in 2004. Since that time, General Motors has spent $100 million updating and preparing the plant for the arrival of the H3.

The H3 marks the escalation of the Hummer brand name to true non-commercial global status. The South African-built trucks will be produced in both left-hand drive for most Asian markets and mainland Europe, while right-hand drive units will be made for the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and other Asian markets.

The H3 will be built with the new 3.7-liter Vortec inline-five which produces 242 horsepower and 242 lb-ft of torque, up from 2006s 3.5-liter that only made 220 horses and 225 lb-ft of torque. But, the big news is that GM is promising to add a diesel option to boost fuel economy and sales in markets where diesel vehicles are not only commonplace but expected in large vehicles. GM has set reasonable goals for the H3; the niche product is expected to be built at a rate of up to 10,000 units per year.