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| Formerly | Premier Automobiles Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| ISIN | INE342A01018 |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1944 |
| Founder | Walchand Hirachand |
| Defunct | 2019 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | 58,Nariman Bhavan,Mumbai, Maharashtra, India[3] |
Area served | India |
Key people | Maitreya V. Doshi(Chairman) |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Parent | Walchand Group |
| Website | www |
Premier Ltd[4] (formerly known asThe Premier Automobiles Limited)[5] was an Indianautomotive manufacturer company, based inMumbai.[6] The company was owned by theWalchand Group and was established byWalchand Hirachand as Premier Automobiles Ltd (PAL) in 1944 with the encouragement and support ofSir. M. Visvesvaraya. The company was founded in 1903 as Walchand-Phatak Co. Later on, the name was changed to TATA Constructions. Further, after the exit of TATA's name was again changed to Premier which was engaged in work of contract & construction business. In October 1947, Premier Ltd manufactured the first Indian made trucks and cars rolled out onto the streets of independent India.[7] Premier is well-known for itsPremier Padmini which ruled the Indian car market and its popularity peaked during 1970s and 80s.
The company was established in 1941 and negotiated withChrysler Corporation for licenses to build aPlymouth car and aDodge truck, sold under the Dodge, Plymouth,DeSoto, andFargo names starting around 1949. In the early years, quality was considered good by both Chrysler and the Indian Department of Defense.[8] In 1949, parts were being made in India, starting with simpler components and gradually building up to more complex pieces. Two companies made parts for these vehicles: Premier andHindustan Motors of Calcutta. The early years of Premier and Hindustan were marked by very low sales, due to the size of the market; only about 20,000 vehicles per year were made in India, in 65 different models. To prevent foreign companies from dominating by mass-producing parts to be assembled into cars in India, the government set up steep import duties on imported parts in 1954, allowing Indian parts-makers to survive.[8]
Premier licensed and manufactured a version of theFiat 1100 D (beginning in 1964 continuing almost unchanged into the late 1990s). The car was initially marketed as a Fiat ("1100 Delight") and subsequently as thePremier Padmini with a 40 hp (30 kW) 1100cc engine and manufactured at the now defunctKurla factory in suburban Mumbai. Later models included the Premier 118NE (named after its 1171 ccNissan A12 engine and with a transmission from theNissan Cherry), a version of the 1960sFiat 124 built in a then-new (but now defunct) factory atKalyan. The 118NE was considered a mid-size luxury car in India until the influx of modern cars in the 1990s.
With theEconomic liberalisation in India, Premier teamed up withPeugeot to build an outdated model of the popularPeugeot 309 in India. Production began in 1998 and initial demand was high. Labour problems and poor dealer service led to problems that were compounded when Premier also aligned themselves with Fiat to manufacture theFiat Uno. Peugeot pulled out of the venture around 2000 after only a few thousand cars sold.[citation needed] Labour and service issues also plagued theFiat venture and astrike finally caused that plant to shut around 2001. Fiat and Premier faced severe criticism in the media. There were various criminal cases against its promoters and the consumer courts of India were flooded with complaints for non-refund of the car booking. The promoters of Premier Automobiles have also been confronted with criminal cases in various consumer courts of India under section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act. A customer association based at Gujarat-Rajkot called PAL Car Customer Association has made various representations against the Premier Automobiles Ltd.[citation needed]
In November 2004, Premier restarted operations by building a small diesel-poweredvan called the Sigma.[9] It was based on a 1980sMitsubishi Varica design licensed fromChina Motor inTaiwan, originally intended to be fitted with Peugeot'sTUD5diesel engine. The production version, as finally presented in late 2004, instead had aHindustan-built 2-liter Isuzu diesel unit. It has 58 hp (43 kW) and is mated to a four-speed manual gearbox, while the car offers from five to nine seats.[10] A multitude of other versions have since been developed, and as of December 2009 the engine has been replaced by a 1.5-liter IDI diesel (with or without turbo) or by the CNG-powered 1.8-liter4ZB1 (both still manufactured by Hindustan).[11] The facelift also meant improved suspension.[12] There was also a pickup version of the Sigma, called the Premier Roadstar.[13]
Premier was structured as two business segments: Engineering and Automotive. The Engineering segment focussed on - CNC Machine Division and Engineering, while the Automotive segment consists oflight utility vehicles andsports utility vehicles. Originally based inMumbai, it was using anISO 9001 certified plant inChinchwad,Pune. Spread over 27 acres, this plant was used as centralized research, development and manufacturing for all activities.[14]
In October 2009, Premier re-entered the Indian passenger vehicle market with a compact SUV named RiO.[15] Rio is assembled from CKD kits ofZotye Nomad I made byZotye Auto of China, and went on sale in December 2009.[12] This vehicle was itself a poorly built copy ofDaihatsu's oldTerios model again from the 1998.
In December 2018 the company filed for bankruptcy.[16] Production of the Rio had beenstopped, and the land of Pune factory was sold in year 2019.[17]
There was also Premier President, that lasted for two or three years, while Padmini was transformed from 1100 D
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