HINDUSTAN MOTORS

Hindustan Motors Limited

 


   In 1942 just before the independence Mr. B.M. Birla established india’s pioneering automobile manufacturing company and the flagship Company of the C.K. Birla Group. The company was given its name as “ HINDUSTAN MOTORS LIMITED (HML)”. It was a part of of the Birla Technical Services industrial group.

After moving the manufacturing facilities from the small assembly plant in Port Okha near Gujrat to Uttarapara, West Bengal in 1948, (The Place is now Called Hindmotor), the company began the production of “the AMBASSADOR” .

These Ambassador cars were 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.

The company was the largest car manufacturer and the leader in car sales in India before the rise of Maruti Udyog in 1980s .

With its headquarter in   Hindmotor, Kolkata, West Bengal, The major manufacturing plants of HML are situated in various parts of india namely :

Hindmotor, West Bengal (near Kolkata)

Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh (near Indore)

Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu (near Chennai)

Hosur, Tamil Nadu (near Bangaluru)

Joint ventures of hm

Hindustan motors had tie ups and joint ventures with many other automobile manufacturing companies.

General Motors Joint Venture

after the independence Hindustan Motors had several tie-ups with General Motors for the production of Bedford Trucks, Vauxhall Motors(1980 to 1990), Allison Transmissions and off-road equipment. “Opel Astra” was a result of a joint venture of GM and Hindustan (C K Birla) in 1994. GM bought out the Halol, Gujarat plant from Hindustan in 1999.

Caterpillar Inc. joint venture

Since 1984, Hindustan motors used to make earthmovers in a joint venture with Caterpillar Inc. at the HMEED plants in Thiruvallur near Chennai and Pondicherry. In the year 2000, H M quit the earthmover business and sold it to Caterpillar.

 

Isuzu Joint Venture

“CONTESSA” was a result of collaboration of Hindustan Motors with Isuzu 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.

 

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

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) are the result of joint venture of Hindustan Motor with with Mitsubishi that started 1998. The plant is located in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu 

 

HML also have many other joint ventures and collaborations with many other companies namely Shandong Shifeng of China , OKA Motor Company, Australia etc. and produces many small scale and large scale commercial trucks.

 

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

MASCOT T-480

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.

TREKKER

Hindustan Pushpak, Trekker and Porter - Multiutility Vehicles based on Ambassador chassis and engines (Half Ton Driveaway Chassis).

Bedford TJ

Isuzu F series – JCS