Hindustan has a long history of building British-designed cars in India, starting with the Morris Oxford in 1942. Its bloodline would survive for a very long time...
A potted history of Hindustan
Hindustan Motors was set up during the Second World War in order to produce motor vehicles for the burgeoning Indian middle-classes. Because of the fact that India was still very much a part of the British Empire, it was inevitable that ambitious industrialists based in India would look back to the homeland to provide the manufacturing technology and facilities. Successfully established, the company's first product – the Landmaster – duly entered production in 1942. Essentially an Indian-built version of the original Morris Oxford, it marked the beginning of a long-lasting and fruitful relationship between Morris Motors and Hindustan.
Production history
During the early 1950s Hindustan extended their arrangement with Morris Motors by commencing production of the Morris Minor. Interestingly renamed the "Baby Hindustan" for local consumption, the Minor would prove to be something of a success.
The next generation Morris Oxford (Series III) entered production in India in 1957, following its withdrawal from the UK market. This arrangement made a lot of sense because the car's tooling was moved lock, stock and barrel from the UK and it enabled Hindustan to produce the car very much on their own terms. This new model was named Ambassador, and would prove to be the mainstay of Hindustan's production well into the new millennium.
The next new model would not arrive until 1980, when the Contessa (essentially, a localised version of the 1972 Vauxhall Victor FE) went into production after its tooling was sold to Hindustan Motors by General Motors.
Hindustan Ambassador |
Hindustan Motors have been providing relatively cheap but rugged transport, ideally suited to the local driving conditions, for well over 40 years. The Ambassador replaced the Hindustan Landmaster, based on the Series II Oxford, in 1957. This restyled version, known as the Ambassador Classic and bearing an uncanny frontal resemblance to BMW's new MINI, was unveiled in 2001. |
 |
Thanks to Asopče Simeli, author of this article