After this morning’s rumors that GM’s sale of Hummer to Sichuan Tengzhong Industrial Machinery Co. was not approved by Chinese regulatory powers that be, The General has just announced that it will begin the orderly wind down of Hummer operations. According to John Smith, GM Vice President of Corporate Planning and Alliances,

One year ago, General Motors announced that we were going to divest HUMMER, as part of focusing our efforts on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac going forward. We have since considered a number of possibilities for HUMMER along the way, and we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed. GM will now work closely with HUMMER employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner.

As we learned with the Saab Sales Saga, this may not mean anything in particular, as a last-minute buyer may swoop in to save the company from the automotive graveyard, where Saturn and Pontiac shamefully lie. Nevertheless, GM will continue to honor Hummer warranties as well as providing service support and spare parts to current owners around the world.

Stay tuned as it happens…