General Motors, which owns Opel, may sell off its fuel-guzzling Hummer brand of large 4x4s as it believes that motorists are now opting for more economical vehicles as petrol and diesel prices continue to rise.

GM plans to close four truck plants in the United States and Mexico and launch the electric Chevrolet Volt car within two years.

GM chief Rick Wagoner said that GM would cut total production by 500,000 cars, from 4.2 million to 3.7 million a year, because rising oil prices had triggered a structural shift that had drawn the American population away from buying large vehicles.

He believes that fuel prices are changing consumer behaviour rapidly. He said that the change is permanent and that GM’s future was in producing smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles and in fast-growing emerging markets.

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