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

 

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List of Car Manufacturers In India

following are the major car manufacturing companies of india with there logos :

Hindustan Motor

               




       

Maruti Udyog      

Daimler Chrysler India

 

 Fiat India Private Ltd

 Ford India Ltd 

 

General Motors India   

 

Honda Siel Cars India Ltd 
                                   

 

                                                                                        

 Hyundai Motors India Ltd

                                      

                                                                          

                     




Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd

                                                                                                    

Skoda Auto India Private Ltd

AUDI AG

                                                       

           

 

BMW

 

CHEVROLET

FORCE MOTORS  

 

NISSAN MOTOR CO. LTD

                                         

PORSCHE

 

San Motors

          

TATA MOTORS

                 

Daewoo Motor

ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR

  

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ELECTRIC CAR –“REVA”

Reva cars are the small, ecofriendly, quick, and simple electric cars designed for non polluting urban travel.

They have been designed for inner-city use, where performance and long-distance driving is not a major requirements.

Standard Specifications                                                                   

2 Door hatchback;
Fully automatic - No clutch, no gear;
Tubeless tyres - Saves energy; Range of 80 km per charge; 0-40 km/hr in 7 secs; Steel space frame with side impact beams; Energy absorbing bumpers;
Child seat belt; Fits snugly into parking space; Large doors: easy entry / exit; High seats for superior visibility;
Rear foldable seats - more luggage room

Dimensions

- Length - 2638 mm, Width - 1324 mm, Height - 1510 mm, Ground clearance - 150 mm, Wheel base - 1710 mm, Turning radius - 3.5 m, Curb Weight - 700 kg

Technical Specifications

Type: Two-door hatchback; Payload: Two adults & two children (227 kg);
Top speed: 80 km/hr;
Charge Time: 80% charge in 2.5 hours; 100% in 8 hours;
Integrated Power System - Motor : High torque (52 Nm), AC Induction motor, 3 phase 13 kW peak; Controller : 350 Amp microprocessor based with regenerative braking; Charger : 220 V, 2.2 kW, requiring a 15 A socket; EMS : Microprocessor-based battery management system; Power Pack : 48 V, 200 Amp-hr, EV lead acid batteries

PRICE - Rs 3,49,705^* - Rs 4,28,419*

REVA –HISTORY

Reva cars are designed and manufactured by Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Private Limited, formerly known as the Reva Electric Car Company,which is an Indian company based in Bangalore. It is one of the first companies to interoduce electric vehicles. The company’s flagship EV REVA i is the world's best selling electric vehicle so far. In may 2010, the Indian motor company “ Mahindra & Mahindra” acquired the company , and now operates as one of its parent's marquees.        

udarshan Maini, chairman of the Maini Group of Bangalore founded The Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) in 1994 as a joint venture with Amerigon Electric Vehicle Technologies (AEVT Inc.) of USA. In 2001 RECC launched its first model in Bangalore and became world's first mass produced eclectric car.

They named this car “REVA”

 

DIFFERENT MODELS OF REVA

Reva dc-drive

The first car went into production in may 2001,which was a dc- driven model. This remained in production until 2006. It had seating for two adults and two children. This car was initially available in india only, hence it was a right hand drive car. In 2003, the car was subsequently exported to Malta and the UK where it was branded as the G-Wiz. In late 2005 the car became available in left hand drive form, which allowed the car to be exported to a number of other countries.

The dc-drive model had a range of 30-40 miles and a top speed of 40mph

Reva ac-drive                                            

In mid-2006, a new, more powerful ,more efficient and ac-driven version of the Reva car was launched. It was Visually identical to the earlier dc-drive model but it had better acceleration and improved hill climbing performance . And Because of 'regenerative braking' (where the batteries are recharged by the motion of the car whenever the driver takes their foot off the accelerator) the top speed of these ac-driven cars reached to 45mph and the range increased to 40-48 miles .

 

 

Reva i 

This was implemented at the end of 2007 in the Reva i model. The Reva i is a substantially reworked car, with the new frontal crash structure, new braking system, enhanced suspension, new windscreen, styling enhancements and improved internal layout giving improved head and leg room inside the car.

The Reva i has undergone crash testing and is a significantly safer car than earlier models.

RECC currently produces two versions of the REVAi , an urban electric micro-car seating two adults and two children

 

     (i) Reva i  ,equipped with lead-acid batteries, which has a nomimal range of               80km (50 miles) per charge and a top speed of 80km/h(50mph)   

      (ii) Reva L-ion , equipped with Lithium-ion batteries, which has faster                        accelaration and a nominal range of 120km(75 miles) per charge.

Reva NXG Concept

The Frankfurt Motor Show saw the unveiling of a show car known as the NXG

It is a two seater, high performance sports car substantially different other Reva models, which was launched as a concept car in 2005. The NXG concept model was limited to a top speed of 130km/h (81mph) and had a range of around 125miles,  but it had a rapid acceleration and huge mid-range torque.                   

The NXG will also feature REVA's patented drive-train technology and the REVive system and included a touch screen computer with high speed internet connectivity .

It has been assumed that the NXG was only a concept car and that it would not spawn a production vehicle. But the company  Production of this car is scheduled for 2012. 

Reva NXR

The 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show saw the unveiling of a new M1 class vehicle known as the NXR. Export production scheduled for the second quarter of 2010. The NXR will be available with either lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries. Well known Indian car designer Dilip Chhabria, is responsible for the styling.

Range, speed, safety and interior specifications all fall along the lines of a new generation of battery electric vehicles. The interior is of a far higher grade when compared to the earlier REVA quadracycle and the back seats now comfortably fit 2 adults.

Reva nxr will be available in two models Reva NXR intercity and Reva NXR city.

 

 

 (i) Reva NXR intercity :  Lithium-ion battery pack
                                                   Range : 160 km (99 miles)    
                                                   Top speed : 104 km/h (65 mph)         
 (ii) Reva NXR city        :  lead acid battery back
                                                 Range : 80 km (50miles)
                                                 Top speed :80km/h (50 mph)

Reva Zephyr-   “India’s first convertible car”      

                

the Zephyr is another concept car which is two seater convertible with wheel arch extensions, electric windows and a new nose. A few cars have been built, but it is not expected that the Zephyr will be put into production.

Reva 'Estate'

Another Reva concept car, this car is capable of carrying four adults and is significantly more spacious than the current Reva models. Again, this car is not expected to be put into production but has been used to gauge public response.

The four seat Reva had an upgraded full leather interior including a leather covered dashboard and door cappings.

Reva is planning to produce cars using solar energy.With numerous  models and specifications, Reva is looking ahead to become the largest selling electric car over the globe used for various purposes.

 

    

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ELECTRIC CARS

It is known that the birth of electric cars took place in mid 1830’s.It took hundreds of years for its development and the process of development is still in progress.

France and England were the first nations to develop the electric

vehicle in the late 1800s. It was not until 1895 that Americans

began to devote attention to electric vehicles. Many innovations

followed and interest in motor vehicles increased greatly in the late

1890s and early 1900s. In 1897 the first commercial application

was established as a fleet of New York City taxis.

It was Robert Anderson of Scotland who was the first to invent crude  electric  carriage between year 1832 and 1839. Professor Stratingh of Groningen, Holland, designed a small scale electric car  which was built by his assistant Christopher Becker in 1835. In the year 1842 American Thomas Davenport and Scotsmen Robert invented the more practical and successful electrical road vehicle in which non rechargeable electric cells were used. Frenchmen Gaston Plante invented a better storage battery in 1865 and his fellow countrymen Camille Faure improved the storage battery in 1881.

Before the pre-eminence of internal combustion engines, electric automobiles held many speed and distance records. Among the most notable of these records was the breaking of the 100 km/h (62 mph) speed barrier, by Camille Jenatzy on April 29, 1899 in his 'rocket-shaped' vehicle Jamais Contente, which reached a top speed of 105.88 km/h (65.79 mph). Before the 1920s, electric automobiles were competing with petroleum-fueled cars for urban use of a quality service car.

Developmental works were carried out with full enthusiasm between 1890’ and 1900 , which resulted in the first commercial application established as a fleet of New York City taxis built by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company of Philadelphia.

The early electric vehicles, such as the 1902 Wood's Phaeton, were little more than electrified horseless carriages and surreys. The Phaeton had a range of 18 miles, a top speed of 14 mph and cost $2,000. The initiation of mass production of internal combustion engine vehicles by Henry Ford made these vehicles widely available and affordable in the $500 to $1,000 price range. By contrast, the price of the less efficiently produced electric vehicles continued to rise. In 1912, an electric roadster sold for $1,750, while a gasoline car sold for $650.

The years 1899 and 1900 were the high

point of electric vehicles in America, as they outsold all other types of

cars.

 Despite their relatively slow speed, electric vehicles had a number of advantages over their early-1900s competitors.those were the cars which unlike gasoline cars did not make noise,they do not have vibrations while moving and they don’t even releases the smell of gasoline.The most difficult part of driving the gasoline cars was their requirement of gear shifting ,which was lacking in  electrical cars. While steam-powered cars also had no gear shifting, they suffered from long start-up times of up to 45 minutes on cold mornings. The steam cars had less range before needing water than an electric's range on a single charge. The cars were also preferred because they did not require a manual effort to start, as did gasoline cars which featured a hand crank to start the engine. Electric cars were often marketed as suitable vehicles for women drivers due to this ease of operation.

In 1911, the New York Times stated that the electric car has long been recognized as "ideal" because it was cleaner, quieter and much more economical than gasoline-powered cars.

Electric cars are generally more expensive than gasoline cars. The primary reason is the high cost of car batteries. US and British car buyers seem to be unwilling to pay more for an electric car.This prohibits the mass transition from gasoline cars to electric cars. While basic electric cars cost under $1,000, most early electric vehicles were ornate, massive carriages

designed for the upper class. They had fancy interiors, with expensive materials, and averaged $3,000

by 1910. Electric vehicles enjoyed success into the 1920s with production peaking in 1912.

Electric vehicles had all but disappeared by 1935. The years

following until the 1960s were dead years for electric vehicle

development and for use as personal transportation.

The energy crises of the 1970s and 80s brought about renewed interest in the perceived independence electric cars had from the fluctuations of the hydrocarbon energy market. In the early 1990s, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the government of California's began a push for more fuel-efficient, lower-emissions vehicles, with the ultimate goal being a move to zero-emissions vehicles such as electric vehicles. In response, automakers developed electric models, including the Chrysler TEVan, Ford Ranger EV pickup truck, GM EV1 and S10 EV pickup, Honda EV Plushatchback, Nissan lithium-battery Altra EV miniwagon and Toyota RAV4 EV.

The global economic recession in the late 2000s led to increased calls for automakers to abandon fuel-inefficient SUVs, which were seen as a symbol of the excess that caused the recession, in favor of small cars, hybrid cars, and electric cars. California electric car maker Tesla Motors began development in 2004 on the Tesla Roadster, which was first delivered to customers in 2008. As of January 2011 Tesla had produced more than 1,500 Roadsters sold in at least 31 countries. The Mitsubishi i MiEV was launched for fleet customers in Japan in July 2009, and for individual customers in April 2010, followed by sales to the public in Hong Kong in May 2010,and Australia in July 2010 via leasing. As of November 2010 Mitsubishi reported 5,000 units produced.

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