Car History 4U - History of Indian Motor Car / Automobile Manufacturers

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History of Indian Motor Car / Automobile Manufacturers

8.9 India

The company was formed in 1942 by Mr B M Birla and in 1958 it began production of what became known as the Hindustan Ambassador car.
The car was based on the British Morris Oxford.
The first model produced was called the Landmaster and it had a 1.5 litre petrol powered engine.
It became known as the Ambassador shortly afterwards.What year?
In the early 1990s the original engine was replaced by an Isuzu 1.8 litre version.
By 2004 nearly four million Ambassador cars had been sold. The car was still being produced in 2007.
In 1982 the company launched the Contessa, a car based on the British Vauxhall Victor.
A 1.8 litre petrol and 2 litre diesel engined versions were produced. Is the car still in production?

In 1982 Maruti Udyog signed a license and joint venture agreement with the Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan.
In 1983, the company launched the Maruti 800, a rebadeged version of the first generation Suzuki Alto.
The three cylinder car had a 796 cc petrol powered engine and a top speed of about 120 kph (75 mph).
By about 2003, with sales of 2.4 million, it was the top selling car in India.
Between 1990 and 1994 the company produced the Maruti 1000, a 970 cc sedan (a car sold by Suzuki as the Cultus in other coutries).
The Zen, a 993 cc hatchback car, was produced in 1993.
In 1995 an upgraded version of the Maruti 1000, called the Esteem, was introduced, originally with either a 1.3 litre petrol or a 1.5 litre diesel engine.
The three cylinder, 796 cc petrol powered, Alto model was introduced in 2000. It had a top speed of 130 kph (81 mph).

Premier Automobiles was formed in 1944 and by about 1949 it was building the Plymouth car under licence from the Chrysler Corporation of the USA.
Between 1962 and 1998 the company produced a licensed version of the Fiat 1100 called the Premier Padmini. The car had a 40 hp (30 kW) petrol powered engine. How many were produced?
After 1996 some models had a diesel engine.
Other cars manufactured by the company up to 2001 include a version of the Fiat 124, the Fiat Uno and the Peugeot 309.

For information on the Reva Electric Car Company see Green Cars, Section 7.7.1 (India).

Tata Motors was formerly called TATA Engineering & Locomotive Company when, in 1945, it started making trains.
The name was changed to Tata Motors in 1960. Check the date.
In 1998 the company produced the Indica model.
The car was mainly designed and developed by Tata Motors and was India’s most indigenous car.
The car’s outer body styling, whilst strongly influenced by Tata, was carried out by an Italian design institute.
The engine’s design was sourced from Peugeot and built by Tata.
An upgraded version, the Indica V2, was launched in 2001, with a 1.4 litre diesel engine. 1.2 and 1.4 litre petrol engine versions were also produced.