Hindustan Motors

Hindustan Motors Limited

Type	Public
Founded	1942
Headquarters	Hindmotor, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Key people	C. K. Birla (Chairman)
Industry	Automobile
Products	Ambasador
Revenue (turnover)	??
Employees	approx. 4000[employees' web: www.autoworkers-ssku.org
Parent	C.K. Birla Group
Website	www.hindmotor.com
IN

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. Manoj Jha is the Managing Director. It began in Port Okha near Gujarat, and in 1948, moved to West Bengal. The Place is now Called Hindmotor.

History

Hindustan Motors Limited (HML), India's pioneering automobile manufacturing company and Flagship Company of the C.K. Birla Group was established just before Indian independence, in 1942 by Mr. B.M. Birla of the industrious Birla family. Commencing operations in a small assembly plant in Port Okha near Gujarat, the manufacturing facilities later moved to Uttarpara, West Bengal in 1948, where it began the production of - the Ambassador.

General Motors Joint Venture

Hindustan and General Motors have 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.

Earthmoving Equipment Division (HMEED)

Main article: Hindustan Earthmoving Equipment

Hindustan motors used to make earthmovers initially in collaboration with Terex and Fermac, 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 Tractors

Main article: Hindustan Tractors

The company began in 1959 as Tractors and Bulldozers Private Ltd and imported tractors. Manufacturing of tractors began in 1963, in collaboration Motokov-Praha (Zetor) of Czechoslovakia, and was known as Hindustan Tractors & Bulldozers Ltd. In 1967, it became Hindustan Tractors Ltd. The tractors were based on the Zetor tractor design and sold under the Hindustan brand. In 1967, it became Hindustan Tractors Ltd.In 1978, the Gujarat, Indian government formed Gujarat Tractors from the ailing company. In 1999, Mahindra Tractors purchased 60% of the company, and in 2001, completed purchasing the rest of the company, renaming it Mahindra Gujarat Tractors Ltd.

Isuzu Joint Venture

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 came from the factory with a fully built metal cabin which was not common with Tata and Ashok Leyland trucks at the time. They were well known for their reliability and fuel consumption, but were discontinued since HML could not sell them for an affordable price.

Mitsubishi Joint Venture

Hindustan has a joint venture with Mitsubishi that started 1998. The plant is located in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu.

Models produced include:

• Mitsubishi Lancer (Seventh generation Lancer)
• Mistubishi Cedia (Eighth generation Lancer)
• Mitsubishi Pajero (Second generation Pajero)
• Mistubishi Montero (Fourth generation Pajero)
• Mitsubishi Outlander (Second generation Outlander)

Hindustan Models

Models currently manufactured by Hindustan Motors are :

• Hindustan Landmaster
• Hindustan Ambassador - The Ambassador design is based on the British 1954 Morris Oxford.
• Ambassador Mark I, II, III, IV, Station Wagon, ISZ 1800 Classic, Grand, Nova, Avigo
• Hindustan Winner - a small truck with 1.8L petrol/CNG engine or 1.5L Diesel engine in collaboration with Shandong Shifeng of China
• MASCOT T-480 FC - commercial truck.
• RTV Ranger - trucks made in collaboration with OKA Motor Company, Australia. This truck can be adapted for school bus, ambulance, etc.

Models discontinued by Hindustan Motors are :

• Hindustan Contessa - based on the British Vauxhall Victor FE with Isuzu diesel or petrol engines.
• Hindustan Pushpak, Trekker and Porter - Multiutility Vehicles based on Ambassador chassis and engines (Half Ton Driveaway Chassis).
• Bedford TJ
• Isuzu F series - JCS

Plants

• Hindmotor, West Bengal (near Kolkata)
• Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh (near Indore)
• Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu (near Chennai)
• Hosur, Tamil Nadu (near Bangalore)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Hindustan vehicles

• Official Hindmotor site
• Hindustan Employee's Union