HINDUSTAN MOTORS

STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL

Bharath Tukrel
Overview
 Hindustan Motors is an automobile manufacturer from India.
It is part of the Birla group of industries.
 The company was the largest car manufacturer in India before
the rise of Maruti Udyog (MUL).
 It is the producer of the famous Ambassador car, widely used
as a taxicab and as a government limousine.
 One of the original three car manufacturers in India, founded
in 1942, it was a leader in car sales until the 1980s, when the
industry was opened up from protection.
 Hindustan has a joint venture with Mitsubishi, producing
versions of the Lancer and Pajero, but is best known for its
own models.
HINDUSTAN MOTORS - A MAJOR PLAYER

 Itstarted production of the Landmaster in 1954, and in 1957

began the production of the Ambassador. Later tie-ups with
General Motors Corporation of USA, Vauxhall Motors, UK,
Marion Power Shovel Co, USA led to new products being
launched. In 1963 commenced the production of the
Ambassador Mark 2. Later versions and more forays in related
vehicle segments followed.
 Itis a one billion turnover company manufacturing Passenger
Cars, Utility Vehicles, Power Products and Earthmoving
Equipment. The manufacturing facilities of the company are
spread across India: Uttarpara in West Bengal, Pithampur in
Madhya Pradesh, Thiruvallur and Hosur in Tamil Nadu, and
Pondicherry. The latest model, Mitsubishi Lancer, is
manufactured in their state - of - the - art manufacturing facility
at Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu. 
Ambassador - the first car to be manufactured in India, has been
ruling the Indian roads ever since its inception in 1948 and the only
automobile to ply Indian roads for more than five decades now, has
carved a special niche for itself in the passenger car segment.

It's dependability, spaciousness and comfort factor have made it

the most preferred car for generations of Indians.

The Ambassador's time-tested, accommodating and practical

characteristics make it a truly Indianised car.
 Evolution of Automobile Industry
Initial Years
Manufacturing was licensed
License Raj
Early to mid 90s Mid 90s – Early 2000s
•High Customs duty on import
•Seller’s market and long •Buyers market
waiting periods
•Steep excise duties &
•Easy Auto finance
•sales tax
•Decrease in customs &
excise •Manufactures diversifying
•2 Major players:
into related activities:
Premier Automobiles Ltd
•Auto finance boom- more finance lease, fleet
& Hindustan Motors
players management, insurance
and used car market
1980s
•foreign banks & non
banking companies, better •But HM diversified very
•Entry of MUL, better product,
schemes. lately compared to all
with government support
other companies
•Seller’s Market

•Long Waiting Periods

 Hindustan Ambassador has a vast service network. The Passenger Car
and Utility Vehicle market is being attended by a 115 strong dealer
network, 50 Service and Parts dealers and additional 60 exclusive
Parts dealers. 4 Regional Offices and Nation-wide Territory Offices
support it. Two dealers serve the Earthmoving Equipment and Power
Products market from 25 locations spread across the country.

 In a bid to streamline the after sales service, three divisions have been
made, namely red, blue and green. The Red will handle the new
Mitsubishi Lancer, Blue the Ambassador and Contessa Classic, while
the Green caters to the rural market with the Trekker and the HM RTV.

◦ All the cars manufactured by Hindustan Motors conform to Euro -1

emission norms. This has been achieved by upgrading the Ambassador
1800 ISZ with multi - point fuel injection. The Ambassador was always in
conformance with these norms.

 Segment Biggest USP

"B“ Sturdy and Tough
 President’s Choice
 Dr. Abdul Kalam was the best choice the country could make earlier for the most
coveted position of the President of India. The Bharata Ratna awardee Dr. Kalam
is known for simple living. He preferred to travel in old ambassador car without
a beacon light and VIP cap. The pilot vehicles were asked to follow the traffic
rules.
 The prime ministerial motorcade consists of a string of cream Ambassadors and
the more than 4O-year-old workhorse remains the official vehicle of senior
politicians, top civil servants, judges, and generals.
…The 80’s
 Until the 1980’s, Ambassador and Premier Automobiles
Ltd’s (PAL) Padmini were the only 2 cars available in the
Indian market. Ambassador was the vehicle of choice,
Government of India, and the official car for almost every
Indian Prime Minister after independence.
 There was no executive order that the government
departments have to buy only ambassador cars. Still all
were buying as a prestige to own it.
 HM derived a major part of its sales from senior
politicians, top civilians, bank managers and defense
personnel.
Ambassador was very popular in the taxi segments
as well, even in 2001 the segment accounted for
almost 65% of ambassadors sales because of the
perception that the ambassador was better suited for
the rough Indian roads and its strong structure, its
believed to withstand the impact of accidents much
better than any other car.

Tillthe early 1980s, Ambassador commanded more

than 70% of the market share. Premier Padmini, a
locally manufactured car based on the Fiat, claimed
the other 30%.
 MUL’s Entry ……1981
 Though the sturdy Ambassador does not find many takers in India,
with people looking to more fancy cars but, its export has been
steadily increasing, mainly in the British and Japanese markets.

 It is being said that Old Amby had to be taken to workshop after delivery of car
from showroom for re-welding and other modifications for the basic driving
situation. This was happening till MUL Maruti’s was launched.

 During early 80’s delivery of Amby usually takes a span of 6 months to 1 year
for delivery from the company or from the agencies dedicated in each
market/state. Its been said “The car was making lot of sound from each part of
the body except the horn during driving”.

 In 1981 with the entry of MUL, the scenario changed drastically, MUL’s small
fuel efficient and well designed car, Maruti 800, became a huge success. By the
late 1980’s MUL became the market leader, leaving Hindustan Motors way
behind in the market share.
The Key Players…Car Segment by year 2k

Passenger vehicle
 By the year passing, HM’s market share went low and
was considered as ‘others’ in the segment
Commercial TATA Motors, Ashok Leyland, Swaraj Mazda,Mahindra &
vehicles Mahindra ,Force motors, Eicher Motors

Passenger TATA Motors, Maruti Udyog, Honda Motors, Toyata, Skoda,

vehicle Mahindra & Mahindra, Daimler Chrysler, Hindustan Motors
Segment Comparison Segment and Brands (All models available in different
variants)

Products Brands

Four Wheelers Maruti

Maruti 800 Maruti Alto
Baleno
The company has a joint venture with Suzuki
honoured with an ISO 9000:2000 certificate.

the company takes only 14 hours to make a

Motor Corporation of Japan. It is said that

Maruti
automobile company in the world to be

Maruti Grand
Maruti Udyog Ltd. (MUL) is the first

Maruti Esteem Gypsy

Vitara XL-7
King

Maruti Suzuki Maruti

Maruti Omni
SX4 Swift

Maruti
Maruti Versa Maruti Vitara
Wagon-R

Maruti Zen
car.
 Trends in the automobile sector…2k
Production of automobiles Domestic Sales of automobiles

10
8.5
10
million numbers

8 7.2 7.9

million numbers
6.3 8 6.8
5.3 5.9
6 4.8 6 5.2
4.6
4 4
2
2
0
0 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
Exports of automobiles

0.7 0.63
0.6

million numbers
0.48
•Domestic Sales have been growing strongly 0.5
0.4 0.31
• Exports have nearly tripled in the years 0.3
0.17 0.18
0.2
•HM was unable to hold position in market 0.1
due to their drop in marketing strategies 0
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
Where as for HM

Brands
 Ambassador (1948 -…Present)
◦ Contessa
◦ Trekker
◦ Opel Astra (1996 GM - Mid size luxury car)

 Only after 1997, HM was able to JV with Mitsubishi

◦ 1997- Began the production of the Road Trusted Vehicle.
◦ 1998 - Commenced the Mitsubishi Lancer Car project.
◦ Mitsubishi Montero - SUV
◦ Mitsubishi Pajero - SUV
◦ Mitsubishi Cedia - Sedan
◦ Mitsubishi Lancer -Sedan

 But MUL were able to look into all the market segment
Premium Segment Comparison
PERIOD Market Share

   Hindustan Motors  Maruti Udyog Ltd.   HONDA

1998-99  2,866  42.1%  9,631

2008-09  8,300  46.3%  9,772

2009-10  0.50%  49.20%  3.20%

Comparing with competitors:

.HM premium segment market share were being eaten up drastically by MUL
and Honda.
.Mostly due to advertising and effective marketing strategies of the competitors
 1984 launched the Contessa, which was labeled as one of
the first up-market cars in India in technical collaboration
with Vauxhall Motors (VM).
 1987 launched Contessa classic considered the most
powerful car available.
 Contessa was reasonably successful car, though it never
managed to match Ambassadors success
 1997 Contessa GXL version with power steering was
launched.
 1996 launched Opel Astra in collaboration with GM
 All brands were eventually failing ……

HM – PASSENGER CAR SALES

Year  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998

Sales  25,150  27,517  25,942  24,711  20,109

 HM
Porters Model Analysis
HM was unable to create barrier for potential
new entrants, many foreign collaborated
entrants like Maruti Suzuki, GM, Toyota
launched and HM was unable to compete with
their existing strategies
Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Even suppliers
were not looked into deep, company was in a
snail pace and couldn’t take up the challenge of
new potential entrants in the market, including
the suppliers of its different parts
HM didn’t know
where they fit in the
existing economy
Threat of Substitute: HM was focused only to
one segment till 1997 and with in that time
MUL was able to bring out brands for each
segment with in the nation. Substitute for
the brand was quite visible in the economy

Rivalry within the company also lead to

downfall of the company and ultimately
leading to less market share. Eg. Internal
Problems, Union problems etc….
External Environment Analysis
 HM’s share in automobiles is miniscule. Though the famous Ambassadors are
still in production, HM is gradually becoming a ghost town.
 HM is an example of family enterprise the way it grows, flourishes, and dies. As
most of the manufacturing divisions are closed, the machineries have been sold
or shifted, and most of the land has shifted hand for building real estate or
Software Park
 HM is just that elephant that is still valuable for many. Surprisingly, CITU, the
CPM union that took over the reign of this industrial establishment many years
ago has lost it to some splinter group and presently fighting to take back the
control. That’s what people there told me.
 At one time, the plant had about 15,000 workmen and engineers at one time.
Today the number must be hardly couple of thousands.
 And who were responsible for this condition of HM?
◦ CITU, the trade union of CPM played the major role. Neither the Birla management
had the guts and wills to make it a great automobile plant of the country, nor the
government helped it out. Surprisingly HM never gave any dividends to its
shareholders.
Strategy Implementation HR Aspect

 HRM supplies the company with a competent and willing workforce,

which is responsible for executing strategies.
◦ Maruti Udyog and Hindustan Motors are manufacturing cars, essentially using
identical technology. The secret behind the meteoric rise of Maruti is its
workforce.

 Human resource today is heavily involved in the execution of the company’s

downsizing and restructuring strategies, through out placing employees, instituting
performance- linked pay plans, reducing health- care costs and retraining
employees. And, in an increasingly competitive global market place, instituting
people development practices that build employee commitment can help improve an
organization’s responsiveness.

 HM strategy failed : Sufficient attention is not paid to the people

development dimension. HR problems that arise when executing
strategies were of the causes below: -
1. Failure to match individual goals and organizational goals.
2. Failure to match individuals aptitudes with implementation tasks
3. Inadequate top management support for implementation activities.
4. Union unwilling for change
 Turnaround Efforts
 Indian economy opened up for foreign players, many
multinational automobile companies entered the country.
Companies including Daewoo, GM, Daimler Benz, Hyundai,
Honda……entered India through joint ventures (JV) and
partnerships with Indian firms.

 HM was the worst affected due to its inflow of competitors.

Forced to react due to its poor performance of its vehicles.

 HM launched Nova (1990) with better interiors

 HM launched 1800 ISZ(1993), better engine performance

 Company also appointed consultants McKinsey & Co. for a

restructuring plan to turn around its business
Mckinsey & Co. findings
 Asked HM to focus on the marketing of components

 Refurbish the Ambassador model and upgrade other

vehicles

 Speed up the delivery process and improve productivity

through re-engineering on the floor shop R

 Reducethe workforce in its production plant at Uttarpara

(Company started implementing the recommendations)
 HM decided to tap new segments to ease the competitive
pressures from other giants
 HM collaborated with Oka Motor Co. to develop targeting at
rural markets.
 Launched Trekker (Rural Transport Vehicle)1995 in 3
northern states. Initially it was received well in the market
but vehicle soon became a criticism owing to a host of
technical problems.
 1998, Trekker sales dropped by two thirds of its initial
volumes to around 800 a year.
 1999, HM launched the redesigned Trekker and an upgraded
version of the amby.
 All restructuring and efforts could not sustain in market for a
longer time, there was high decline in sales.
Myopic
Analysts opinioned that HM’s condition was a
result of its lax management policies and
shortsightedness.
Before MUL, HM was the marker leader. HM
was able to sell whatever it produced and
there fore it did not care to upgrade the
technology or production facilities.
Pressure from competition was another aspect
in its fail
Other serious matter to look into is its internal
problems.
Car Design

HM’s design was not aesthetic and even failed in aerodynamic

designs. Car was not up-to the mark in design and performance
compared to other segments of its competitors in the market.
 Internal Problems in HM/Changes made
 Uttarpara plant had a workforce of 14,000 employees and the
wage bill alone constituted 22% of plants expenditure.
 Against the standard output of 8-10 cars per employee per annum,
the plants output was as low as 3 cars per employee.
 As per the fact each employee 8 cars, therefore with 14,000
employees = 1,12,000 cars
 Analysts claimed that with the 1999 production level of 2500 cars,
the plant should have been staffed with no more than 3000
personnel.
 Annual production at the plant declined from 30,822 cars in
1995-96 to 26,684 cars in 1996-97.
 November 1997 – 2835 Ambassadors , 146 Contessa were
produced from the plant and ultimately the numbers came down
to 1385 Ambassadors and 33 Contessa’s by October, 1998.
 HM invested around INR 750 million to modernize the assembly
line, building new body and paint shops and even purchased new
equipment.
Cost Cutting Measures
Company also embarked on a cost cutting exercise
and announced a Voluntary Retirement Scheme
(VRS) for workers in April 1998 and in November
1998. Offering a package of 0.1 Million.

 Trade Unions Role

VRS was not received well by the strong Center of
Indian Trade Union (CITU) and Indian National
Trade Union Congress (INTUC)

 Problems raised by Union

 Similar segment VRS offered by FIAT was average of 0.35
million per worker. (FIAT Management at Kurla)
 Workers / Union were totally against the VRS schemes and
company management was finding it tough to convince
workers about VRS
Worse Situations of HM
CITU and INTUC refused to accept the VRS
schemes offered by the company.
Unions were confident that the West Bengal State
Government would back them on the issue.
Employee protests intensified
HM approached the state government with a
proposal to run the plant for only 3 days in a
week. (attempt to save Rs.32 million every week)
Company also promised to pay the workforce full
wages for an entire week ….even though workers
were working only for 3 days in a week.
 Government's Rejection of Proposal
 Government rejected HM’s proposal, following which the
company decided to seek legal recourse.
 1999, January, HM filed a writ petition in the Calcutta High
court, claiming that its decision was not prompted by
industrial relations, but by the company’s poor financial
position.
 Company stated that the layoff in Uttarpara plant was
temporary in nature and the company would resume normal
production as soon as demand pick up in market. (High court
ordered the sate government to reconsider the issue)
 May 1999, Instead of reconsidering the issue, the sate
government filed an appeal before the division bench of the
Calcutta High Court.
 State government stated that HM had suppressed facts and
figures during its meeting with them to settle the issue.

◦ The division bench directed that matter be referred to the Industrial

Tribunal.

 July1999, The Industrial Tribunal dismissed the company’s

proposal.

 HM again filed a writ petition against the Tribunals order in

the division bench of Calcutta High Court, and the division
bench upheld the Tribunals order.

◦ July 1999, In response to the division bench's order, HM moved to

Supreme Court for further movement of the situation.

 During all this time, productivity at plant suffered and other

expenditures also increased rather than cost cutting.
 Turn Around Efforts -II
 Reorganizing efforts did not pay off. So HM decided to look
beyond its existing portfolio to come out of its problems.
 They considered Mckinsey recommendations, company explored
the global auto components business in 2000 and established a
unit Indore to assemble engines and gearboxes.
 By this time year 2000 most international companies like
Toyota, GM etc….entered and flourished into the economy with
other tie-ups/JV.
 Analysts said, HM’s move was wise with its expertise and could
easily become a super component supplier for both domestic
and global car majors.
 HM’s Executive Director “Sarker Narayanan” said:
◦ We are open to such opportunities. It brings in extra cash and its an
expensive way to upgrade our skills by working with different customers.”
 New Business ventures: In order to use its design and
engineering skills to enter new businesses. HM entered into an
agreement with Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) for developing
petrol engine for M&M vehicles.
 HM also tied up with GM to market the entire range of
transmission equipments manufactured by Allison Automatics
(owned by GM).
 Change in Distribution Networks
◦ (HM had a bad image in market offering very low dealer
incentives and poor after sales service)
 HM overhauled the distribution system in order to become more
market friendly.
 1999, HM unveiled a new distribution system, wherein dealers
where divided into three tiers – red blue and green depending on
their location and performance records.
◦ Red tier catered to the metros for selling and servicing lancers
◦ Blue tier catered to the semi urban areas for Contessas and
Ambassadors
◦ Green tier to rural markets for Trekkers.
 Exporting Era
 2001, HM also decided to explore the overseas markets for its
products and began by exporting around 150 RTV’s to
Bangladesh.
 HM also managed to secure an export order for 300 petrol
engines from a UK based company, in addition to the 1800
engines already supplied.

 Cutting down the diversification / Cost benefit Analysis/ Measures

 2001 February, HM sold its earthmoving equipment to
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) for Rs 3.3 Billion.
◦ After the deal HM was able to bring down its high interest debts from Rs
255.5 million to Rs 156.9 million. (Starting first quarter of 1999-00 to
corresponding quarter of 2000-01 fiscal).
◦ Company used to repay debts worth Rs2.25 Billion from its long term
borrowings of Rs 6.2 billion. Helped reduce gross loss to Rs 152.2 million
from Rs 255.5 million in the corresponding quarter of 1999-00.
 SALES BREAK-UP

   1998  1999  2000  2001

No of Months  12  12  12  12

Sales value (Rs in Mn)

Commercial
 7,376.20  8,005.10  12,768.40  12,358.90
Vehicles
Earthmoving
 3,414.30  4,131.60  2.775.4  2,073.80
Machinery

Spares &
 1,683.70  2,116.80  2,117.80  1,758.90
Components

Others  513.2  491.1  465.4  649.9

Sales Volume (Units)

Commercial
 26,417.00  22,953.00  29,610.00  28,200.00
Vehicles
Earthmoving
 647  677  581  495
machinery
 The remaining sum of Rs1.05 billion after the repayment of
debt from the sale was used for working capital requirements
and automotive business.
 2001,Click Business….Effective Utilization of Internet
resources.
◦ 2001 September, HM continued its customer relations enhancement
initiatives with the launch of the ‘click and customize’ service for
Lancer customers.
◦ The company set up kiosks in six cities (New Delhi, Bangalore,
Chennai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Pune) that had computed
terminals displaying the features of the petrol and diesel versions of
the Lancer.
◦ HM had invested Rs 2.5 million in the software and Rs 0.1 million on
each kiosk. Customers could pick and choose the car color, the
interior, accessories and the wheels, and take delivery within three
weeks.
 First Mover Advantage
 HM focused on the Internet also, becoming the first carmaker to
offer customizing service to its customers in India.
 The company planned to install 16 such computer kiosks at its
dealers’ premises across the country by the end of fiscal 2001-02.
 According to company sources, after the launch of the service,
Lancer’s market share had gone up by 4%.

 Transformation to automotive parts/ supply division

◦ November 2001, HM announced its plans to emerge as a major
player in the engine manufacturing business for other companies.
The company was awaiting the outcome of its bid to make the
engines for Ford’s Ikon.
◦ With the second phase of the restructuring efforts in place, HM
hoped to improve its growth in the automotive division and offset
the losses from the passenger car segment.
 Confident Boosters For HM Year 2K
◦ The company’s moves seemed to be finally bearing fruits as it was able
to narrow down the losses in the first quarter of 2001-02 by around
30%.
◦ HM was banking on the Ambassador’s niche markets (government and
taxi) and hoped to retain the segment by launching new variants.
◦ The Trekker was also poised to do well after the relaunch and HM
hoped to sell 3,200 vehicles in 2001-02.
 Analysts however remained skeptical about HM’s future prospects and
its ability to make a turnaround as a passenger carmaker.
 They felt that the only way out of HM was to turn itself into auto-
component supplier to multi-nationals producing passenger cars in the
country.
 HM seemed confident that with Pajero’s launch in early 2002, it would
regain its position in the Indian car market.
SWOT Analysis
 Strengths

 Hindustan Motors was the first Indian Car Company to start

production In India in 1942.
◦ HM has become a vast company, manufacturing cars like the sturdy
Ambassador, the elegant Contessa, and in collaboration with Mitsubishi of
Japan now manufactures the new Mitsubishi Lancer.
 HM started production of the Landmaster in 1954, and in 1957
began the production of the Ambassador. Later tie-ups with
General Motors Corporation of USA, Vauxhall Motors, UK,
Marion Power Shovel Co, USA led to new products being
launched.
◦ In 1963 commenced the production of the Ambassador Mark2 Later
versions and more forays in related vehicle segments followed.
 Export has been steadily increasing, mainly in the British and
Japanese markets. Trucks are being exported to Bangladesh,
Egypt, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. The Earth moving
Equipments are being exported to Oman, Jordan, Iraq,
Bangladesh, Mauritius and Libya.
 HM has a vast service network. The Passenger Car and Utility
Vehicle market is being attended by a 115 strong dealer network, 50
Service and Parts dealers and additional 60 exclusive Parts dealers.
4 Regional Offices and Nation-wide Territory Offices support it.

 Two dealers serve the Earthmoving Equipment and Power Products

market from 25 locations spread across the country.

 2006, HM has invested a "significant" amount for three years to build

up production capacity for auto components

 Hindustan Motors also has an auto components subsidiary which

makes automotive castings, forgings and stamping.

 Over a period of time, sales from auto components could be as high

as 30-40%

 First mover advantage in several areas like Internet selling, sturdy

car
 Future Plans

 Hindustan Motors planned to launch Mitsubishi's

small-car model iCar in India by the end of 2009.
 Reuters noted that the Indian passenger vehicle
market is forecast to nearly double to 2m units in
annual sales by 2010 with small cars taking up over
two-thirds of sales. A tax cut in economy is
encouraging on small cars launches. HM will
benefit with this.

 GM and Hindustan_Motors are toying with the idea

of introducing CNG as a fuel option in order to
boost sales.
 The companies have plans to introduce a CNG
variant for the Optra and Lancer (old variant). The
two variants will be introduced in CNG-centric
areas including Mumbai, Delhi and Gujarat.
 Mitsubishi source components from Hindustan.,
sourcing components from a low cost base like
India through partner Hindustan Motors will prove
beneficial for Mitsubishi, especially when it is
facing problems.
 Hindustan Motors already supplies engines and
other auto components to M& M, GM and Ford in
India. With Mitsubishi sourcing components, and
HM possibly manufacturing some of them, the
Indian partner would be able to use some of its idle
capacity and shore up its bottom line.
 Weakness
 Before 90’s (The License Raj)
 This lack of product activity in the Indian market was mainly
due to the Indian government's complex regulatory system that
effectively banned foreign-owned operations.
 Within this system (referred to informally as the "license raj"),
any Indian firm that wanted to import technology or products
needed a license/permit from the government. The difficulty of
getting these licenses stifled automobile and component
imports, creating a low volume high cost car industry that was
inefficient, unprofitable, and technologically obsolete.
 The dominant product Ambassador, although customized to the
poor road conditions in India, were based on a stale design
concept (with outdated features), and were also fuel inefficient.
 Inefficiency of Employees, Output of each employee was less
due to Union interference
 Inefficient management principles
 Less presence in premium segment.
Lacks global tie-ups and thus finding it hard to tap export markets.

Opportunities

 Efficiency through management principles

 Exports
 Acquisitions for strengthening its distribution tie-ups.
 Entry into other related diversification categories like Truck parts
manufacture, and other parts automotives.
 Can bring out more sophisticated cars with high technology standards

Threats
 Emergence of strong players in the market mainly overseas competitors
 Lack of employee motivation
 Lack of design for cars (mainly new age look for cars)
 SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE...LIKE THE GOOD OL' AMBY
 One of India's best-known cartoonist RK. Laxman, has driven
an Ambassador for years. Oscar-winning Indian director
Satyajit Ray immortalised the car in many of his films. "It's a
car identified with the masses and the ruling class. It gained
access into parliament because of its symbolic value and the
power it connotes.
 The government has a fleet of more than 5,000 Ambassadors.
whose rounded contours, big bonnet and bulging headlights
have remained virtually unchanged since it first rolled off the
production line in 1957.
 In some ways, the Ambassador is to India what the Chevrolet
is to the United States. In many ways, the clatter and bang of
the simple Ambassador, which is built by one of the country's
oldest carmakers, Hindustan Motors, is the heartbeat of India.
For years, you could buy any car in India-as long as it was an
Ambassador.
 There are more than 26 car models available now
ranging from the best-selling compact Maruti to
luxury cars such as the Mercedes- Benz S320L with
a price tag of a staggering Rs 6.4 million.

The company, which has invested Rs 1.25 billion in

engine, transmission and assembly facilities in
recent years, hopes to tap the Indian yuppie's
growing taste for classic cars. "It will be like the
return of the Volkswagen Beetle, Chrysler PT
Cruiser and BMW's Mini... The idea is not to create
brand awareness but to bring about a brand
perception change."

The Amby has a lot of home-ground advantages.

Every neighbourhood mechanic knows how to repair
it and most problems can be fixed with a hammer
and wrench. Spare parts are widely available, even
in the remotest village........
THANK YOU