Highlights:
• Iconic Ambassador car to come in new avatar
• HMFCI and Peugeot collaborating on the design and engine of the new Amby
• Amby will be manufactured at Hindustan Motors’ (HM) Chennai
• Owner of HM sold the car brand to the French automaker in 2017
The iconic Ambassador is likely to comeback in two years in a brand new avatar. Hind Motor Financial Corporation of India (HMFCI) and Peugeot are collaborating on the design and engine of the ‘Amby’ which will be launched in a new incarnation.
New brand will be manufactured at Hindustan Motors’ (HM) Chennai
The new model of the classic car brand will be manufactured at Hindustan Motors’ (HM) Chennai, which is run by HMFCI, a CK Birla Group affiliate company.
HM director Uttam Bose said on May 25 that work is under way to bring out the ‘new look’ Amby. Mechanical and design work for the new engine has reached an advanced stage.
Peugeot wanted to establish a presence in India from a long time, and was one of the first international automakers to do so in the mid-1990s, coinciding with the country’s economic liberalization.
Last Ambassador automobile manufactured in September 2014
HM’s Chennai plant previously produced Mitsubishi cars, while its Uttarpara site was dedicated to producing the Ambassador. HM’s Uttarpara manufactured the last Ambassador automobile in September 2014.
HM is India’s oldest carmaker, halted production in 2014, claiming massive debt and a lack of demand. In 2017 the owner of HM’s the CK Birla Group, sold the car brand to the French automaker for Rs 80 crore.
Ambassador was a status symbol in India from the 1960s to the mid-1990s, and it was the lone mass-produced luxury car in the market. However, the renowned vehicle brand’s demise was as dramatic as its ascent. When production was halted in 2013-14, annual sales had declined from over 20,000 units in the mid-1980s to under 2,000 units.
