'Amby' production halted

Hindustan Motors temporarily shut down its manufacturing facility at Uttarpara, West Bengal; the plant has been producing Ambassador since 1957. The car was based on UK's Morris Oxford III, its been almost 6 decades and the design hasn't changed much. Ambassador was considered a luxury in 60-70's but the inception of Premier Padmini (Fiat 1100) and later in 80's the Maruti 800, seriously dented the sales of the 'queen of automobiles in India' – HM Ambassador. Ambassador's were the ride of the politicians and other government employees till late 90's but were gradually replaced by Maruti Esteem's and Tata Safari's.

Ambassador has received several updates in the span of almost 60 years. Isuzu, the quintessential engine manufacturer has been providing powertrains to HM from early 90's. Isuzu engines helped the old lady to cope up with the zipper Maruti 800. Despite introduction of new engines, the sales of the vehicle declined gradually; the production was at its peak in 80s with 24000 cars annually to a minuscule 6000 units in 2000. At present the plant has been manufacturing around 5 cars a day, running into losses and debts. The company temporarily stops the production at the plant until the time they figure out what to do with the Ambassador.

In the summers of 2004, HM launched Avigo, a modernized version of the Ambassador with design cues inspired from Mini Copper. At the front, Avigo featured a different grille, an entirely new bonnet and angular headlamps. The rear reminds of original Landmaster series. The interiors offered light brown leather upholstery, central instrumentation cluster and a central console with AC, power windows and power steering. Avigo was discontinued in 2010.

The company last year introduced Ambassador Encore BS-4 complaint at 4.97 lakh but the vehicle failed to achieve the desired results. To pay the bills and cover the debts, HM tried to sell the Chennai manufacturing facility to Mitsubishi for 150 crore but Mitsubishi declined the offer and finally the plant went to a separate entity - Hindustan Motors Finance Corporation. Apart from Ambassador, the company offered Contessa between 1984 – 2002. Contessa is considered to be the India's first luxury vehicle offering AC, power steering, electric windows, etc. Contessa was equally successful but just like Amby, introduction of newer models doomed the fate of Contessa. As of now, nobody knows what will be the future of HM, what could be its next product? Had Ambassador been evolved strategically, today, Ambassador could have been as successful as Mini Cooper.