Hindustan Motors is an automobile manufacturer from India. It is part of the Birla Technical Services industrial group. The company was the largest car manufacturer in India before the rise of Maruti Udyog.
It is the producer of the Ambassador car, widely used as a taxicab and as a government limousine. This car is based on the Morris Oxford, a British car that dates back to 1954.
One of the original three car manufacturers in India, founded in 1942 by Mr. B.M. Birla, it was a leader in car sales until the 1980s, when the industry was opened up from protection. It began in Port Okha near Gujarat, and in 1948, moved to Uttarpara, West Bengal.
Hindustan and General Motors had several tie-ups in the post independence era to produce Bedford 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 make Opel Astra cars. GM bought out the Halol, Gujarat plant from Hindustan in 1999.
Hindustan motors used to make earthmovers initially in collaboration with Terex, USA and Fermac UK and later with Caterpillar Inc. since 1984 at the HMEED plants in Thiruvallur near Chennai and Pondicherry. It 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.
Hindustan formed a collaboration with Isuzu to manufacture engines and transmission for the Contessa in late 1980s at Pithambur near Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Initially the joint venture made a 4 cylinder G180Z 1.8L petrol engines and 5-speed transmissions. Later, a 2.0L Isuzu diesel engine was added to the procuction 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 and Mahindra.
HML also assembled and sold a small number of Isuzu F series - JCS trucks in India in the early 1990s. These trucks were well known for their reliability and fuel consumption, but were discontinued since HML could not sell them for an affordable price.
Hindustan has a joint venture with Mitsubishi that started 1998. The plant is located in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu. The models produced include the Mitsubishi Lancer, Mistubishi Cedia, Mitsubishi Pajero, Mistubishi Montero and Mitsubishi Outlander.
Contributing significantly to the Indian Automotive industry for over five decades, Hindustan Motors Limited''s manufacturing facilities are situated in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Tamilnadu and West Bengal. Hindustan Motors Limited functions with a commitment to core values such as quality, safety, and environmental care, combined with customer-oriented total solutions.
The Tiruvallur plant in Chennai is an exclusive state-of-the art plant dedicated to the manufacture of Mitsubishi Lancer cars in technical collaboration with Mitsubishi Motors, Japan.
The Automobile division at Uttarpara, West Bengal near Kolkata, is engaged in the manufacture of Passenger Cars- Ambassadors, Contessa and Multi Utility Vehicles -Trekker, Porter and Pushpak. The Pithampur plant in Indore, houses the Road Trusted Vehicle division, manufacturing the "RTV" brand of multi utility vehicles, in technical collaboration with OKA Motor Company, Australia.
