DETROIT &<51; General Motors said Friday that it would sell its Hummer brand, once a crucial part of its strategy to expand its lineup of sport utility vehicles, to a Chinese heavy equipment maker and a private investor.

The sale, to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, is another step in G.M.&S217;s rapid downsizing after emerging from a government-financed bankruptcy.

G.M.&S217;s talks with Sichuan Tengzhong were disclosed in June, and the agreement is still subject to regulatory approvals by the Chinese government. No terms were announced, but people with knowledge of the deal estimated the price at $150 million.

Shedding the Hummer brand was a welcome development for G.M., which was disappointed last week when a deal collapsed to sell its Saturn brand to the Penske Automotive Group.

&S220;This is one more enabler to General Motors getting down to its core brands and having a business that&S217;s better able to support the marketplace,&S221; a G.M. spokesman, John McDonald, said.

The automaker, which is 60 percent owned by the government, is now in the process of shutting down Saturn as well as Pontiac. G.M. is also trying to complete the sale of Saab to a Swedish company, and has agreed to sell a majority stake in its European brand, Opel.

Reducing the number of brands was among the conditions to which G.M. agreed in exchange for receiving $50 billion in loans from the government.

Once the brands are gone, G.M. will be left with four vehicle divisions &<51; Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick &<51; in the American market.

Hummer sales have dwindled in the last two years, as consumers shunned big, gas-guzzling S.U.V.&S217;s in favor of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.

Sales of the brand peaked in 2006, when Hummer sold 71,000 vehicles in the United States. This year, through September, it has sold less than 9,000.

Sichaun Tengzhong plans to acquire Hummer through an investment entity in which it will hold an 80 percent stake, with 20 percent held by the Chinese entrepreneur Suolang Duoji payday loan companies.

Under terms of the agreement, G.M. will continue to make Hummers for the new owners for at least two years, at a Louisiana assembly plant. An additional Hummer model will be built at an Indiana plant operated by AM General, which sold the license for the brand to G.M. in 1999.

Sichuan Tengzhong will take over agreements with Hummer&S217;s 153 American dealers and 231 dealers in international markets.

The companies said in a statement that the current management team, including the chief executive, James Taylor, would remain. About 3,000 sales, manufacturing and corporate jobs will be preserved by the deal.

Mr. Taylor said in a statement that the new owners planned to offer alternative-fuel engines in Hummer&S217;s three models, as well as a diesel version to be sold outside North America.

&S220;Backed by a privately owned and well-capitalized company, we are going to be able to focus on providing customers with more efficient models that deliver Hummer&S217;s promise of authentic, purpose-built design and engineering,&S221; Mr. Taylor said.

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority recently approved a tax credit for Hummer valued at $20 million over 10 years as an incentive to base the brand in the state.

A representative of the new owners said Friday that they were &S220;evaluating locations in southeast Michigan for our U.S. headquarters and various locations in the U.S. for a long-term manufacturing base.&S221;

The Hummer deal is considered an important expansion for the Chinese auto industry outside of its home market. It also is the first foray into passenger cars by Sichuan Tengzhong.

G.M. Is to Sell Hummer To a Chinese Company