GM 'set to sell' several brands

Hummer is set to be the highest profile victim of the General Motors crisis, as the Detroit manufacturer signalled which brands are set for the chop in a bid to win $12 billion (£7.8 billion) of loans in a US government bailout.

Reports indicate Hummer - sales of which have crashed - along with the acquired Scandanavian car maker Saab, and US brands Pontiac and Saturn will all be put on sale.

GM's top US brands are Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC. It makes Vauxhall cars and Renault vans on Merseyside and in Luton, though workers have been on short-time for weeks after production cuts were ordered.

GM, with Ford and Chrysler, has asked for $25 billion in government aid to prevent the biggest-ever collapse in motor sales and a cashburn in operations running to several billion dollars per quarter.

With its huge debts and pension liabilities, most analysts reckon that any government cash injection will wipe out GM's shareholders.