In the month of June 2009, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Limited ("Tengzhong"), a vague producer of building equipment and special-use cars in south-western China, took the worldwide automobile market by surprise when it revealed its policy to obtain the money-losing Hummer department of General Motors Corp. Hummer's premium sport-utility trucks and sport-utility automobiles had fairly low fuel performance of 9 − 16 miles per gallon. Because of year 2006, Hummer's sales volume had actually decreased greatly due to intensifying oil costs, its unfavorable image as a "gas-guzzler" and a shift in client choices to smaller sized sedans.
Tengzhong had no previous experience in the light car market or in handling a significant car brand name. Since this was Tengzhong's very first effort at foreign direct financial investment, it was crucial for its management to figure out the significant barriers in handling its brand-new Hummer subsidiary in the United States.
PUBLICATION DATE: June 24, 2010 PRODUCT #: HKU893-PDF-ENG
This is just an excerpt. This case is about LEADERSHIP & MANAGING PEOPLE
Related Case Solutions & Analyses:
The Barcelona Mobile World Congress
The USGA and the State of Golf in the United States
What a Difference a Word Makes: Understanding Threats to Performance in a VUCA World
Diversity Challenge: An Integrated Process to Bridge the ‘Implementation Gap’
Katherine Schuler at Boxes & Bins, Inc.
A Politician in a Leather Suit and the Paradox of Japanese Capitalism
Corporate Brand as Social Contract
Plantar S.A. (Brazil): The Value of Carbon Assets
Ratnagiri Alphonso Orchard: Bayesian Decision Analysis
The Pebble Mine (E): Rio Tinto
