The History of Hummer: H1, H2, H3 and the Electric Revival

Hummer at a glance

Origins: AM General and the Humvee

AM General grew out of the General Products Division of Kaiser Jeep, which American Motors bought in 1970. A year later AMC turned the division into a subsidiary called AM General. In 1979 the US Army issued a specification for a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, abbreviated HMMWV. Soldiers soon shortened it to "Humvee", and the civilian name came from that nickname.

AM General won the main contract in March 1983: 55,000 vehicles for about 1.2 billion US dollars. Production began at the Mishawaka plant in autumn 1984, and the first deliveries reached the Army in early 1985. By March 1995 the company had built 100,000 Humvees. The total later passed about 250,000, and more than 50 countries have bought them.

History by era

1992–1999: the civilian Hummer

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger saw an Army convoy while filming Kindergarten Cop in Oregon and pushed AM General to sell the vehicle to the public. The civilian model went on sale in 1992 and Schwarzenegger bought the first two. It kept the military chassis but added paint, air conditioning, sound insulation, upholstery and a stereo. The same year, the Renco Group bought AM General.

1999–2008: General Motors grows the brand

In December 1999 AM General sold the Hummer name to General Motors but kept building the vehicles. GM took over marketing and distribution, renamed the original model H1 and planned a range around it. The H2 arrived in 2002, built by AM General in a new plant in Mishawaka. The smaller H3 followed in 2005 from GM's Shreveport plant in Louisiana. On 10 October 2006, H3 production also began in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, mainly for export. By 2006 the brand was sold through importers in 33 countries.

2008–2010: fuel prices, crisis and closure

High fuel prices and the 2008 financial crisis hit large SUVs hard. On 1 June 2009, during GM's restructuring, the company said it would drop the brand, and the next day it announced a sale. The buyer was Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery of China. The deal needed Chinese government approval, which never came. On 24 February 2010 GM declared the sale dead. It confirmed the shutdown on 7 April 2010 and offered rebates on about 2,200 unsold vehicles.

The final H3 left Shreveport on 24 May 2010, after a last order for the Avis rental fleet. The old 1cars text dated the liquidation announcement to February 2008; the correct year is 2010.

Since 2020: the GMC Hummer EV

On 30 January 2020 GM announced that the name would return as an electric pickup and SUV under the GMC brand. The pickup was revealed on 20 October 2020 and the SUV on 3 April 2021. Production started at Factory Zero, the former Detroit-Hamtramck plant, in November 2021 after a 2.2 billion US dollar investment. The full story is on the GMC Hummer EV page.

Hummer timeline

Landmark models compared: H1, H2, H3 and EV

H1. The H1 used the military chassis, giving 406 mm (16 in) of ground clearance and a 762 mm (30 in) wading depth. It was 2,197 mm (86.5 in) wide and 4,686 mm long. Engines included a 5.7 petrol V8 and 6.2 and 6.5 diesel V8s. The final Alpha of 2006 received a 6.6 Duramax turbodiesel with 220 kW (300 hp). AM General built 11,818 civilian H1s, and production ended in June 2006. The old 1cars text linked the end to emissions rules and the H1's thirst.

H2. GM designed the H2, and AM General built it under contract in Mishawaka. It offered a 6.0 V8 with 242 kW (325 hp) from 2003 to 2007, then a 6.2 V8 with 293 kW (393 hp). The H2 SUT pickup arrived for 2005. Kerb weight was about 2,900 kg. The H2 is 132 mm narrower than the H1, and by our calculation the 6.0 version carries about 12 kg per kW. US sales peaked at 34,529 in 2003 and fell to 1,513 in 2009.

H3. The Hummer H3 was the most affordable Hummer. It shared its frame with the Chevrolet Colorado and used five-cylinder engines of 160 to 180 kW, or a 224 kW (300 hp) 5.3 V8 in the H3 Alpha. The H3T pickup followed. Sales reached 54,052 in 2006.

Engineering firsts and off-road records

The H1 brought true military hardware to private owners. Its approach angle of 72 degrees and its ability to climb a 559 mm (22 in) step were far beyond normal SUVs. The H2 and H3 traded some of that ability for comfort, but the H3 still offered locking differentials and a 4:1 low range with the Adventure package. The GMC Hummer EV added new tricks. CrabWalk four-wheel steering moves the truck diagonally, and Extract Mode raises the air suspension. Its three-motor pickup reaches 746 kW (1,000 hp).

Ownership, factories and production today

General Motors still owns the Hummer name. AM General, which built the H1 and H2, was sold by MacAndrews & Forbes to KPS Capital Partners in July 2020. It now builds military vehicles, including the JLTV A2. GM sold the former H2 plant in Mishawaka in 2017. Today's Hummer EV comes from Factory Zero in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. The brand name also earned money through licences for colognes, bicycles, shoes, clothing, toys and video games, and even an electric quadricycle built in the UK.

Current and past model line-up

The 1cars catalogue lists the H3 and the electric models; all Hummer pages are in the Hummer catalogue, and the electric truck sits under GMC. To see how the electric Hummer compares with other battery cars, open the 1cars electric car section.

Hummer in numbers

By our calculation, AM General and GM built or sold about 324,000 H1, H2 and H3 vehicles: 11,818 H1s, 153,026 H2s sold in the US and 159,529 H3 and H3T models. The best year was 2006, when the H2 and H3 together found 71,524 buyers in the US. Three years later, in 2009, the same models plus the new H3T pickup sold only 9,046 units, a fall of 87 %.

Which Hummer to choose today

For serious off-road use and collecting, the H1, especially the 2006 Alpha, is the one to buy. The H2 suits buyers who want the look with a petrol V8 and a car-like cabin, but fuel costs are high. The H3 is the cheapest and easiest to live with. To set an H2 against an H3 or a modern rival, use the 1cars comparison tool. Buyers who want modern technology should look at the electric GMC Hummer EV, which is heavy but quick.