General Motors' plan to sell the hulking, once-hot Hummer line to a Chinese heavy equipment maker has been delayed by a month, officials told The Associated Press.

General Motors Co. and Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp. said they are extending the deadline to complete the transaction until Feb. 28 pending final approval by the Chinese government. The previous deadline was Jan. 31 for a definitive agreement to sell the line once synonymous with America's love for big off-road vehicles.

Hummer spokesman Nick Richards told the AP the deal has cleared U.S. regulatory hurdles. He called it a complex agreement but said both companies are "optimistic the deal will be completed" by month's end.

Sichuan Tengzhong said in a statement it's cooperating with the approval process.

Financial terms weren't disclosed, but Hummer has been estimated to be worth about $150 million. GM's bankruptcy filing last summer said that the brand with its born-in-the-military cachet could bring in at least $500 million.

The brand, whose smallest model gets 16 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, sold well until the middle part of the last decade when fuel prices began to rise. Sales peaked at 71,524 in 2006.

GM is selling Hummer to focus on core brands Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.