Ambassador era relic Hindustan Motors looking to make a comeback with electric vehicles

• Ambassador maker Hindustan Motors is looking to make a comeback in India.
• The company has reportedly entered into a joint venture with an European electric vehicle maker.
• The company will launch electric two-wheelers and cars in the country.

Ambassador was one of the most iconic cars in India and was seen as a symbol of prestige in the country. Now, though, it is a relic of the past but its maker, Hindustan Motors, is reportedly looking to make a comeback by jumping onto the electric vehicles bandwagon.

The auto industry across is now going through a revolution, with most major companies looking to introduce electric cars. While the electric vehicle industry is still in a nascent stage, Ambassador maker Hindustan Motors is reportedly looking to make a comeback in India with electric vehicles.

According to a report by Business Standard, Hindustan Motors, India’s first car maker, is looking to revive its business by entering into a joint venture (JV) with a European auto company from the EV industry.

The iconic Ambassador car was manufactured by Hindustan Motors, which began production in 1958, ending it nearly 50 years later in 2014.
Equity discussions are underway
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has reportedly been signed by Hindustan Motors and the required due diligence is expected to take around three months.

Uttam Bose, a director of Hindustan Motors has said the companies are currently discussing the equity structure. In the current proposed structure, Hindustan Motors will own 51% of the stake and the unnamed European company will own the remaining 49%.
Hindustan Motors will re-enter with an electric scooter
Interestingly, the JV is not just focused on electric cars. The first vehicle from the company will be an electric scooter. Interestingly, this comes at a time when the sales of electric two wheelers are at an all time high and increasing rapidly.

A report last month revealed that there has been a five-fold increase in the sale of electric scooters. While Hero Electric and Okinawa are at the top in the electric two-wheeler segment, Tata Motors is dominating the electric car segment.

“Initially, the project will launch two-wheelers and subsequently four -wheelers,” said Uttam Bose in a statement to Business Standard.
Electric vehicles to be manufactured in West Bengal
Initially, the electric vehicles will be manufactured at the company’s Uttarpara plant in West Bengal, where it stopped production in 2014. The company will use the 295 acres space that it has in Uttarpara.

“We have the facility and the infrastructure and we want to sweat it out,” Bose added.

It will be interesting to see the electric vehicles introduced by the Hindustan Motors and how the company competes with the existing players.

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