Hindustan Motors on 11 February 2017 sold out Ambassador car brand to French automaker Peugeot SA for Rs 80 crore.
This deal will help Peugeot to enter into the Indian car market by using Hindustan Motors' existing manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu.
In this regard, Hindustan Motors signed an agreement with Peugeot SA for the sale of the Ambassador brand including the trademarks for a consideration of Rs 80 crore.
About Ambassador Car
• Owned by the CK Birla Group, Hindustan Ambassador was manufactured at Uttarpara on the outskirts of Kolkata.
• Since 1958, when the Ambassador, based on Britain’s Morris Oxford, started being manufactured in India, it was the emblem of high social standing.
• It was the first diesel car of India and was the longest produced auto brand that was manufactured between 1958 to 2014.
• Since 1958, there have been seven models of the Ambassador beginning with Mark 1 to Encore.
• The first Ambassador model costs Rs 14000 while the last one costs Rs 5 lakh.
• The Ambassador was the preferred choice for taxis and was voted as the world’s best taxi by global automotive programme Top Gear in 2013.
• In 2013, the year before Hindustan Motors shut the production of Ambassador cars, around 2200 Ambassadors were sold.
• Falling sales and mounting debt forced Hindustan Motors to discontinue the production of Ambassador at its Uttarpara plant in 2014.
Background
• Peugeot had a brief three-year presence in India in the mid-1990s.
• However, in 2016, Peugeot Citroen announced its plans to re-enter India by 2018. The company had also formed a Joint Venture with CK Birla Group for the Chennai plant in January 2017.
• The Chennai plant currently produces vehicles for Mitsubishi and has a capacity of manufacturing around 12000 units a year.
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