Hindustan Motors is the automobile manufacturer of India. It is the part of Birla group of industries.

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 now has a joint venture with General Motors, producing versions of the Opel Astra and Corsa, but is best known for its own models.

Models

Models manufactured by Hindustan Motors are :

• Hindustan Ambassador - The Ambassador design is based on the British 1948 Morris Oxford, and is infamous for being very heavy and underpowered, with only a 55 bhp (41 kW) engine.
• Hindustan Contessa - based on the British Vauxhall Victor, which ceased production in 1978, but with an Isuzu engine.
• Lancer - in collobration with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.
• Pajero - a SUV type vehicle in collobration with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.
• Pushpak, Trekker and Porter - Multiutility Vehicles.
• MASCOT T-480 FC - commercial truck.
• RTV - trucks made in collobration with OKA Motor Company, Australia. This truck can adapted for school bus, ambulance, etc.

Plants

• Uttarpara, West Bengal (near Kolkata)
• Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh (near Indore)
• Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu (near Chennai)
• Hosur, Karnataka (near Bangalore)

External links

• Official Hindmotor site (http://www.hindmotor.com/)
• The Ambassador: A Story of Protectionism Gone Awry (http://www.aworldconnected.org/article.php/301.html)