 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1942; 83 years ago (1942) |
| Founder | Brij Mohan Birla |
| Headquarters | Kolkata, India |
Key people |
|
| Products | |
| Revenue | ₹ 30 crore (US$ 3.5 million) (2024) |
| Owner | S Parmar |
| Divisions | Hindustan Motorcycles |
Hindustan Motors is an Indianautomotive manufacturer based inKolkata. It is a part of theBirla Technical Services conglomerate. Hindustan Motors was the largest car manufacturer in India before the rise ofMaruti Udyog. Hindustan Motors manufactured theAmbassador and Landmaster motorcars (based on 1956Morris Oxford Series III), both immensely popular Indian automobiles from 1957 to 2014.[1]
One of the original three car manufacturers in India, founded in 1942 by Mr. B.M. Birla,[2] it was a leader in car sales until the 1980s, when the industry was opened up fromprotection. Manoj Jha was the managing director who stepped down from the post on 21 February 2012.[3]
In early 2013, Hindustan Motors announced that it will demerger and transfer its Chennai plant to its fully owned subsidiary Hindustan Motor Finance Corporation Limited.[4]
On 11 February 2017, Hindustan Motors executed an agreement withPSA Group (nowStellantis) for the sale of theAmbassador brand, including the trademarks, for a consideration of ₹80 crore.[5] The tie-up entails two joint venture agreements between the companies of the two groups. The new Ambassador model was likely to be rolled out in December 2024. PSA would also use the plant to manufacture automobiles, engines and parts in the Chennai plant.[6][7] The Chennai plant manufacturesCitroën vehicles.[8]
Hindustan Motors Limited (HML) was India's pioneering automobile manufacturing company. It was established just before theIndian Independence Act 1947, in 1942 by B. M. Birla of the industrialistBirla family in collaboration withLord Nuffield ofMorris Motors, who were already selling their cars in India. Commencing operations in a small assembly plant in Port Okha near Gujarat, the manufacturing facilities later moved toUttarpara, West Bengal in 1948, where it began the production of the Morris-designedHindustan Ambassador. The HM-Mitsubishi Motors Plant is in Tiruvallur near Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
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In 1948, after independence, vehicle production was shifted to a new greenfield plant spread over a large area in Uttarpara, West Bengal. The first car to roll out from the Uttarpara plant was the Hindustan 10, based on theMorris 10. Later the Hindustan 14, based on theMorris Oxford MO, and baby Hindustan, based on the Morris minor, were produced. In 1954 Hindustan launched theMorris Oxford Series II-derived Hindustan Landmaster, and in 1957 the Hindustan Ambassador, based on theMorris Oxford Series III, was launched. This first model, later known as Mark-1, whose basic design remained unchanged was manufactured until 2014 with various model changes on facelifts, engines and later with power steering, disc brakes, etc.
Hindustan andGeneral Motors have had several tie-ups in the post independence era to produceBedford Trucks,Vauxhall Motors (1980 to 1990),Allison Transmissions and off-road equipment. In 1994, GM and Hindustan (C K Birla) formed a 50-50 joint venture,General Motors India to manufactureOpel Astra cars in the newly created mid-segment category. The production of the Astra was phased out and later replaced by the then successfulOpel Corsa family of vehicles. In early 1999 General Motors India bought out theHalol, Gujarat, plant from Hindustan Motors thus ending a long partnership.[9]
On 21 February 2012, Mr. Manoj Jha, the managing director stepped down from his post. The decision was unanimously accepted by the board of directors.[10]
Hindustan motors used to make earthmovers, initially in collaboration withTerex (US) and Fermac (UK); and beginning in 1984 withCaterpillar Inc. at the HMEED plants in Thiruvallur, near Chennai and Puducherry. The operation was sold to Caterpillar in 2000 and HM quit the earthmover business. HML continue to be a joint venture partner with Caterpillar in Hindustan Power Plus, which manufactures diesel engines and generator sets.
The company began in 1959 asTractors and Bulldozers Private Ltd and imported tractors. Manufacturing oftractors began in 1963, in collaboration Motokov-Praha (Zetor) of Czechoslovakia, and was known asHindustan Tractors & Bulldozers Ltd.[11] In 1967, it becameHindustan Tractors Ltd. The tractors were based on the Zetor tractor design and sold under theHindustan brand. In 1978, the Gujarat, Indian government formed Gujarat Tractors from the ailing company. In 1999,Mahindra Tractors purchased 60% of the company, and in 2001, completed purchasing the rest of the company, renaming itMahindra Gujarat Tractors Ltd.[12]
In 1982 Hindustan formed a collaboration withIsuzu to assemble and sell theIsuzu F series - JCS trucks in India. These trucks came from the factory with a fully built modern metal cabin which was not common withTata andAshok Leyland trucks at the time. They were well known for their reliability and fuel consumption, but were discontinued mainly due to falling sales, poor service facilities, and HML not being able to sell them for an affordable price.[13]
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Hindustan Motors also entered into a technical collaboration to manufacture engines and transmissions for theContessa in the late 1980s at a newly constructed state of the art engine plant at Pithampur near Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The petrol engine commonly known as Isuzu 1.8 Petrol would later serve in the Hindustan Ambassador with Multi Point Fuel Injection until 2015. Initially the joint venture produced 4-cylinderG180Z 1.8L petrol engines and 5-speed transmissions. Later, an2.0L Isuzu diesel engine was added to the production line to power the Contessa and the Ambassador. The technical collaboration lasted from 1983 to 1993. The Indore plant has since expanded to manufacture engines for a number of other manufacturers like Opel, Ford and Mahindra.
Hindustan has a joint venture withMitsubishi that began in 1998. The plant is located in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu. In India, Mitsubishi offered the Pajero, Lancer and Outlander with mild refreshes until early 2010s, but as time went by, their sales trended down. Mitsubishi launched Pajero Sport in 2012 with a 2.5l DI-D Variable Geometrical Turbo Diesel engine mated to a 5-speed AT (in 2WD only) or MT (in 4X4 only). Montero was also offered for a brief duration. Mitsubishi also launched the latest generation Outlander in 2018. The Lancer Evolution X was launched in India in 2013 as a CBU import, but it did not sell well in India due to the high price of ₹50 lakh.
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