Dubai: The meanest machine of them all is set to land in the UAE. The local rights for the civilian version of the Humvee — the US Army’s battering ram of an all-terrain vehicle — has been picked up by Liberty Automobiles, and the first to do so in the Middle East. (Liberty also has the Chevrolet and Cadillac dealership ships as well as that of Kawasaki bikes.) The first units of the hand-built Humvee C-Series — packed with 6.2-litre V8 sequential fuel injection petrol engines — are due by May and carry a price tag of $200,000-$250,000 (Dh734,000-Dh917,500). And that’s before prospective buyers give out instructions on the level of customisation they would want for their vehicle.
“We plan to test the product rigorously in UAE while taking the opportunity to show it to prospective customers to order and customise accordingly,” said Rajesh Krishnan, Group General Manager at Liberty. “The customisation can go up to any extent.”
Export markets first
In fact, UAE buyers will get to have their Humvees well before their counterparts in the US. “The intention was to supply the export markets first before delivery in the US … that’s to take place by end of the year or early next,” said John Costin, President of Humvee Export.
The manufacturer is not rushing to build its retail network. Last month one was named for China and as yet no one has been confirmed for Saudi Arabia, potentially one of the main overseas markets going forward. Production at the plant in Michigan will be confined to the “hundreds”.
While the Humvees use a power-train supplied by General Motors, it is “not necessary that we hand over dealerships rights to GM partners,” said Costin.
Hummers
What swayed the vote in favour of Liberty was its track-record selling the now defunct Hummers, an US Army staple from another generation. (Production of Hummers ceased in 2010.) “We were the largest dealership of Hummers outside the US … over the years Liberty sold approximately 4,000 units, of which 600 were H2s and balance H3s,” said Krishnan. “The Liberty service centres are still servicing the Hummers on the UAE roads.”
As for the Humvees, the target UAE buyer would be “someone who’s extremely enthusiastic of off-roading or a person who is already spoilt for choice that they just need to have one more. The Humvees are going to be very niche rather than niche. It will be for those who prefer to take the road less travelled.”
Factbox: The Humvee puts on civilian clothes
* Humvee Export LLC is responsible for all the overseas territories, having won the rights from AM General. The plant is located in Michigan.
* The Humvee saw its first participation in a conflict during the US invasion of Panama in 1989. Since then they have been a part of major US Army engagements, though not so in Afghanistan where it was seen as being too wide for the pathways there.
* AM General began selling the Hummer, the original civilian version of the (M998) Humvee in 1992. Later on, in 1998, General Motors acquired the brand rights for the Hummer name. In May 2010, the final production Hummer passed through the line.
