The automotive industry in India is one of the largest in the world with an annual production of 23.96 million vehicles in FY (fiscal year) 2015–16. Let's see where and how it started!
Indian roads are now ruled by Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki cars but it was Hindustan Ambassador which was popular back in 1958. With the arrival of new cars in Indian Automotive Industry, it is hard to track the history and evolution of Indian cars.
The Maharaja of Patiala (Punjab) imported the first motor car in India in 1892. It was a French De Dion Bouton steam powered two cylinder tricar. The Ford Motor Company Canada supplied 22,000 Model Ts to India in 1926. Chevrolet had set up a production plant in Sewri, Mumbai for the manufacturing of 'Chevrolet AB Touring National' in 1928 but the assembly unit was closed in 1954.
In 1953, the government ordered restrictions on importing cars and hence there was a need to build Indian cars. The industry started seeing a rise and thus came Hindustan Motors and Premier Automobiles Ltd. with their own models of cars, completely manufactured in India.
Hindustan Ten was launched in 1948 and Hindustan Ambassador 1958. Though the former was received well in the market, it was the latter which dominated the Indian markets from mid 1960s till 1980s. Ambassador is still used all over the country, although Hindustan Motors stopped its manufacture in 2014.
Hindustan Motors was among the first Indian manufacturing company which was established just before Independence in 1942 by Mr. B. M. Birla of the industrialist Birla family. They collaborated with Morris Motors and opened a small assembly plant in Port Okha Gujarat. The manufacturing later moved to Uttarpara, West Bengal in 1948. The production of Morris designed Hindustan Ambassador began there. The HM-Mitsubishi Motors Plant is in Tiruvallur near Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
Post-Independence in 1948, vehicle production was shifted to a new green field plant spread over a large area in Uttarpara, West Bengal. The first car to roll out from the Uttarpara plant was the Hindustan 10, based on the Morris 10.
Hindustan has a joint venture with Mitsubishi that began in 1998. The plant is located in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu. The mid-size SUV Pajero Sport was manufactured until 2016. In India, Mitsubishi had ruled the automotive industry in 2000 with the Mitsubishi Lancer Slxd diesel 2.0l engine and slxi 1.5l petrol with upscale amenities like stereo systems with cassette and cd changers, automatic controllable/foldable mirrors, leather seats, cup holders, defoggers and 5-speed manual transmissions.
Premier Automobiles Ltd, (PAL), entered the market in 1949 by building the Plymouth car under license from Chrysler Corporation of the USA. It produced the licensed version of Fiat 1100 called Premier Padmini between 1962 and 1998. It was among the most famous cars in India.In October 1947 Premier Ltd. manufactured the first Indian made trucks and cars rolled out onto the streets of a free India.
The company was established in 1941 and negotiated with Chrysler Corporation for licenses to build a Plymouth car and a Dodge truck, sold under the Dodge, Plymouth, DeSoto, and Fargo names starting around 1949. Premier licensed and manufactured a version of the Fiat1100D (beginning in 1964 continuing almost unchanged into the late 1990s). The car was initially marketed as a Fiat ("1100 Delight") and subsequently as the Premier Padmini with a 40 hp (30 kW) 1100 cc engine and manufactured at the now-defunct Kurla factory in suburban Mumbai.
While PAL and HM focussed on the passenger cars at the time of independence, Mahindra & Mahindra, in 1945, came with the objective to produce utility vehicles. It brought a revolution in the industry as it introduced Jeep styled cars in India and currently has a controlling stake in the REVA Electric Car Company. Mahindra has given cars like Scorpio, Bolero, Thar, Xylo to the market apart from providing agricultural tractors.
Soon established as the Jeep manufacturers of India, the company later commenced manufacturing light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and agricultural tractors. Mahindra began assembling the Jeep CJ3 in 1954, and light commercial vehicles in 1965. In 1979 the licensed assembly of Peugeot diesel four-cylinder engines and transmissions began, and in 1982 a tie-up with Kia Motors to build their four-speed KMT90 transmission and transfer case was announced.
Mahindra started making passenger vehicles firstly with the Logan in April 2007 under the Mahindra Renault joint venture. M&M made its maiden entry into the heavy trucks segment with the Mahindra Truck and Bus Division, the joint venture with International Truck, USA. Mahindra produces a wide range of vehicles, including MUVs, LCVs and three-wheelers. It manufactures over 20 models of cars, including larger, multi-utility vehicles like the Scorpio and the Bolero.Mahindra & Mahindra launched the Mahindra Xylo in January 2009, selling over 15,000 units in its first six months.
TATA Motors, in 1991, came for the passenger cars segment with its first car TATA Sierra. TATA has since then seen the market rising for the company with the introduction of cars like TATA Sumo and TATA Indica, which have been the bestsellers of their time. TATA has expanded the market by producing agricultural tractors and trucks, apart from owning the English car making companies Jaguar and Land Rover since 2008. Its owner, Ratan Tata also came out with TATA Nano in 2009 which was claimed to be India's first car made for common man.
Founded in 1945 as a manufacturer of locomotives, the company manufactured its first commercial vehicle in 1954 in a collaboration with Daimer-Benz AG, which ended in 1969. Tata Motors entered the passenger vehicle market in 1991 with the launch of the Tata Sierra, becoming the first Indian manufacturer to achieve the capability of developing a competitive indigenous automobile. In 1998, Tata launched the first fully indigenous Indian passenger car, the Indica, and in 2008 launched the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car. Tata Motors acquired the South Korean truck manufacturer Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company in 2004 and purchased Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford in 2008.
Maruti was established by Sanjay Gandhi in 1981 on the background of Government of India. It gave market the infamous Maruti 800 in 1983 and has been the best-seller in the market for a long time. Maruti Udyog Limited owned 56.21% by Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, holds 51% of the Indian Passenger car market as of 2017. Maruti has given Alto, Omni, Swift, Esteem, Dzire, WagonR, among the other cars that continues to rule the Indian roads and markets.
A timeline for evolution of Indian cars.
Investments to be done in future:
Global automaker Ford plans to manufacture two families of engines by 2017, in India. A 2.2-litre diesel engine code-named Panther, and a 1.2-litre petrol engine code-named Dragon, which are expected to power 270,000 Ford vehicles globally.
The world's largest airbag suppliers Autoliv Inc, Takata Corp, TRW Automotive Inc and Toyoda Gosei Co are setting up plants and increasing capacity in India.
General Motors plans to invest US$1 billion in India by 2020, mainly to increase the capacity from 130,000 units a year to 220,000 by 2025, at the Talegaon plant in Maharashtra.
US-based carmaker Chrysler has planned to invest Rs 3,500 crore (US$525 million) in Maharashtra, to manufacture Jeep Grand Cherokee model.
Mercedes Benz has decided to manufacture the GLA entry SUV in India. The company has doubled its Indian assembly capacity to 20,000 units per annum.
Germany-based luxury carmaker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's (BMW) local unit has announced to procure components from seven India-based auto parts makers.
Mahindra Two Wheelers Limited (MTWL) acquired 51 percent shares in France-based Peugeot Motorcycles (PMTC).
(Source: Wikipedia)
