The history of Indian car making is littered with success, glory, incompetence and failure. We look at those marques that have fallen by the wayside.
Hindustan Motors / Mitsubishi
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The history of Indian car making is littered with success, glory, incompetence and failure. We look at those marques that have fallen by the wayside.
14 Aug 2022 | 24518 Views | By Sergius Barretto
The history of Indian car making is littered with success, glory, incompetence and failure. We look at those marques that have fallen by the wayside.
Hindustan Motors / Mitsubishi
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
The history of Indian car making is littered with success, glory, incompetence and failure. We look at those marques that have fallen by the wayside.
Hindustan Motors / Mitsubishi
The Ambassador was so popular, it stayed on sale until 2013. Others like the Contessa (Vauxhall Victor) and the Trekker, a rudimentary MPV based on the Ambassador, followed. But like PAL, with a low focus on quality and no R&D to speak of, HM did not survive – this despite a JV with Mitsubishi in the late ‘90s that showed some promise. The Lancer proved to be very popular, the Pajero SUV had a proper fan following, and even the production and quality levels were very good. Neither partner, however, was really invested in the JV, and so, updates were slow. Eventually the products and the brand simply fizzled out.
Premier Automobiles / Peugeot / FIAT
Premier Automobiles Limited, or PAL, was established in 1944 in Mumbai and began rolling out its first cars and trucks in August 1947. All through its history, PAL made various licensed products, starting from the Chrysler stable such as Dodge, DeSoto and Plymouth.
During the protectionist era, it famously made a version of the Fiat 1100 D – later the Padmini – and during the years of liberalisation, came the Fiat 124-based 118NE. Equipped with a Nissan engine and gearbox, it was comfortable and competent. Later, PAL also made both the Peugeot 309 and Fiat Uno, but both weren’t successful. The Uno was underpowered and poorly equipped, while the designed-for-Africa 309, though well engineered and very capable on our roads, didn’t exert enough appeal.
While the 309 sedan had some initial success, soon labour and quality issues at PAL forced the two firms to part ways. Fiat had an independent innings in India as well, but that brand didn’t survive either. Now parent Stellantis only sells Jeep and Citroën here.
For a while, Premier made no cars, but in 2009, it launched the Rio SUV, based on the Daihatsu Terios, which incidentally laid claim to being India’s first compact SUV. The poor focus on quality and its dealer network and virtually no R&D, meant the company simply could not survive in the modern era.
Sipani Motors / Rover
Set up in 1974 as Sunrise Automotive, Sipani started off by making the three-wheeled Badal, loosely based on the Reliant Robin. Replaced by the 2-door rear-wheel-drive Dolphin in the ‘80s, itself based on the Reliant Kitten, it later evolved into the four-door Montana. Sipani even introduced the Daihatsu Charade-based Montana D1.
It launched the Rover Montego, but couldn’t manage the business, and with fewer than 300 units built, the company went bankrupt in 2000.
Standard Motors
Opel/Chevrolet
Interestingly enough, American car giant General Motors had a plant in India back in 1928, but it left soon after Independence. It returned in 1996 with Opel, but reliability issues and expensive repairs meant the brand image was ruined to the extent that the Opel had to be discontinued and Chevrolet was introduced.
These re-branded Isuzu, Subaru, Daewoo and SAIC products didn’t do well. A litany of marketing, strategy and product planning errors lead to GM’s exit in 2017. The Gujarat plant was sold to SAIC (MG), while the Pune plant continued to make cars for exports until 2020, and, as of date, it’s yet to find a buyer.
San Motors
International Cars & Motors (ICML)
ICML, a joint venture between the tractor maker Sonalika and MG Rover, (under China’s Nanjing Automobiles) started production of the Rhino MUV in 2006. ‘Inspired’ by the Qualis, the design was a non-starter, quality and finish were way off the mark and it was poorly engineered and put together.
Datsun
Daewoo Motors
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