GM reassures dealers only Hummer brand is for sale
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp GM.N is not planning a sale of any of its brands other than the Hummer line of SUVs, GM's North American sales chief said in an e-mail to the automaker's U.S. dealers.
Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president for North American sales and marketing, said none of GM's brands other than Hummer were up for sale or being considered as candidates for closure, despite growing speculation to the contrary.
"I have been asked by the media if other brands were undergoing a similar strategic review. My answer then and now was the same -- no," LaNeve said in his e-mail.
LaNeve said GM's dealers would be among the first to know if plans changed for any of the company's eight auto brands.
"Similar to the Hummer situation we would communicate with you, our dealers, very early in the process if this was the case," he said.
A GM spokesman said the message was meant to reassure the dealers.
"What prompted the letter was all of this speculation that we might be looking to phase out or reassess some of our brands," GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said.
Saturn, which has been named as one of the most likely brands for review by GM, has the right products in a market fast shifting away from trucks and SUVs, LaNeve said.
"A lot of dealers were concerned, so I think it was a very good thing for him to reassure dealers," said one dealer who received the e-mail from LaNeve.
The No.1 U.S. automaker has hired Citigroup Inc (C.N) to help review its options for the military-derived Hummer line, which it said is looking to sell or revamp.
Battered by tumbling demand for large trucks and SUVs since the spring, GM has announced deep cuts in truck production in recent weeks. Analysts are also expecting GM to take other steps to ride out a deepening industry downturn.
GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner has said the automaker is working quickly to develop plans to cut costs and improve its cash position.
GM shares closed up more than 5 percent at $10.78 on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Soyoung Kim and Poornima Gupta; Editing by Andre Grenon)
