General Motors announced Friday it had finalized plans to sell control of its iconic Hummer brand to a Chinese heavy equipment maker, pending approval from the U.S. and Chinese governments.

While Hummer will be controlled by two Chinese automakers, CEO Jim Taylor said Friday the company plans to keep operations headquartered in the U.S. [for now]

"One of the very first conversations I had when I flew into China to meet these folks was "regarding where future production for the Hummer brand would be located", Taylor said. "They totally agreed that that's a necessary part of the investment, to stay where the customers are [until we get rid of you]. We have two [out of work] plants here, the engineering talent is all here [for now]. There has never been a debate since Day 1 that this would continue to be the epicenter of Hummer development."