Indian Auto Industry - History & Timeline

[RSM]

Force Motors - Till 1990

Force Motors founded in 1958 as Bajaj Tempo Ltd. is a manufacturer of three wheelers, multi-utility and cross country vehicles, light commercial vehicles, tractors, buses and now heavy commercial vehicles. Abhay N. Firodia is the Chairman & Managing Director.


On 15th August 1957, the 10th anniversary of Indian independence, Mr. N.K.Firodia signed a collaboration with Vidal & Sohn Tempo Werke GmbH for phased manufacturing of TEMPO 3-WHEELER & manufacturing was started in a small plant at Goregaon, Bombay. The initial licensed capacity granted by the government was 1000 per year and 80 vehicles per month.

Expanding the business in 1961, the Company acquired about 150 acres of land in Akurdi near Pune. The production was transferred to Pune by the end of 1964. Ambitious plans for producing Light Commercial Vehicles for the growing industrial economy of India were drawn up. The manufacture of TEMPO VIKING 4-Wheeled Trucks & Vans commenced in November 1964. The licensed capacity was increased to 6000 vehicles per year.

The VIKING vehicle subsequently was upgraded with a diesel engine and the MATADOR was born. The production of Matador commenced in 1969. In 1975, the manufacturing capacity of the company was increased to 12,000 vehicles per year, in addition to 6,000 diesel engines for other purposes.

The collaborator company in Germany, in the wave of mergers during the 70 s merged eventually with Daimler-Benz. In July 1982, the company in a new collaboration - with the then Daimler Benz - produced the Mercedes Benz OM 616 engine under license for fitting on its line of vehicles.

The TEMPO TRAX Vehicle, specifically designed for the rough roads of rural India was developed by the Company's Research & Development department, to cater to the growing mechanisation of passenger transport in rural India.

forcemotors.com

 

[cooldhaya]

Aah i still remember the Matador van in which i used to travel for school when i was a small kid!! Now eventually Mahindra vans have taken over!!

 

[Aditya]

Seems like a lot of us travelled to school in a Matador!!
I think it could easily fit 20 squealing squabbling kids and their bags and water bottles!!

 

[ilango[speed thirst]]

The first 2 pictures i have seen in chennai.

The matador van , yeah the school days.

Its a front wheel drive van.

Winger is inspired by this

 

[cooldhaya]

Yes the first two pictures , these vehicles were used by many of the small scale industries for transportation purposes!

 

[RSM]

The Maruti 1000



The Maruti 1000, made by Maruti Udyog was the first ever contemporary sedan-type car launched in India. The car (which Suzuki sold in other countries as the Cultus/Swift/Geo Metro with a 1.3 L or 1.6 L engine) was introduced in October, 1990. Sold at Rs. 3.81 lakh, it was back then the costliest car released in the Indian market. With a large waiting list for all Maruti cars, a computerised lottery was used to decide who got a chance to buy a Maruti 1000. The car came with a 970 cc engine whose output was just 45 bhp and proved underpowered for a car that weighed 850 kg.

 

[Aditya]

As I remember, anybody having a booking for the M1000 due for delivery could exchange it for a M800!!
Those were the bad old days when the customer had no choice, and "premiums" ruled the road.
But it was sure a status symbol in its time, before people realized that it was a pretty bad engine.

 

[RSM]

Indian Auto Industry in 90s

The automobile sector in India underwent a metamorphosis as a result of the liberalization policies initiated in the 1991. Measures such as relaxation of the foreign exchange and equity regulations, reduction of tariffs on imports, and refining the banking policies played a vital role in turning around the Indian automobile industry. Until the mid 1990s, the Indian auto sector consisted of just a handful of local companies. However, after the sector opened to foreign direct investment in 1996, global majors moved in. Automobile industry in India also received an unintended boost from stringent government auto emission regulations over the past few years. This ensured that vehicles produced in India conformed to the standards of the developed world.

Maruti launched a few more models in the form of Maruti 1000 (a sedan, the predecessor of the now-discontinued Esteem) and a super stud, the Gypsy. Meanwhile, PAL (makers of Padmini) had tied up with French car major Peugeot; and HM had given the Amby quite a few nose jobs (ironically Amby still doesn’t look far different from the original Morris Oxford despite the facelifts). They also had a filler, the Contessa which didn’t make a fortune for them like the Ambassador did. PAL failed with the Peugeot 309 and also failed to keep up the development pace for the Padmini, while Maruti had just discovered another masterpiece, the Zen. Nothing noteworthy happened till 1996, when a few foreign manufacturers decided to set up shop here. The major ones Fiat, Hyundai and Daewoo launched Uno, Santro and Matiz respectively. Ill-fated Fiat India has struggled to make an impression from day one. The Santro became an unbeatable package because of the top-notch quality and service (and partly because of Shahrukh Khan’s endorsement!) A new war was waged. We all know it as the “small car war”. Everybody wanted to have a piece of the pie, and the Santro was the car to beat. Maruti launched the Wagon R with drastically unconventional looks which took a while to catch up. Improvements in road infrastructure led a few more manufacturers to India. Those were Ford, General Motors (Opel), Honda and Toyota; however none of them tried their luck with a small car. Those who did were going to lead the Indian automobile industry.

 

[RSM]

1991 - Launch of the 1st indigenous passenger car Tata Sierra



The Tata Sierra, or Tata Sierra Turbo was a sport utility vehicle produced by Tata Motors of India.It was the first automobile fully designed and produced in India. The vehicle also forms the basis for DC Design's Arya Concept vehicle.The Sierra is powered by a 1.9 turbodiesel. Initially it had naturally aspirated engine but latter version were Turbocharged. The Sierra Turbo is believed to be the first turbo charged engine on cars in India at the time.



Being the first automobile from Tata Motors, part of the India's largest industrial house the Tata Group and better known for its dominance in the commercial vehicle segment, the Sierra is a concept suited to Indian conditions of driving. This is the first diesel vehicle to be accepted as a personal car in that country without the derogatory connotations associated with diesels. The design though not class leading is quite acceptable. It featured some firsts in India, such as adjustable steering. Engine noise is also remarkably well suppressed, while cruising in top gear it is difficult to tell that the powertrain under the hood is a diesel one. Other features included power windows, power steering and a tachometer. The body is very sturdy and so is the chassis. Durability is the hallmark of this machine. The Tata Sierra is no longer in production.

 

[RSM]

1991: Introduction of Mahindra Commander

Seen police jeeps in old hindi movies??

 

[Landrover]

i hate Mahindras.

BTW Tata Sierra, was a great looking vehicle, It sold instantly due to its looks only. It was impractical, lot of mechanical issue, AC was ineffective. But it sold handsomely, I think there was a long waiting period. It was the vehicle that encouraged TATA to go further in this segment.

 

[cooldhaya]

Oh yes the car i first drove the TATA Sierra!! A great car but as Jalex mentioned the A/C is ineffective during hot summers but rest of the times its good! We had an NA engine only. The car is very much durable and sturdy , and it was at those times where we used to get metal bumpers only now we have switched over to plastic! Power windows , power steering were new to this segment at that time!

The only drawback is the absence of rear doors! Very much difficult to climb in and out of the rear seats for aged people mainly!

 

[Aditya]

Seen police jeeps in old hindi movies??

Even new Hindi movies!!

 

[RSM]

1992 Launch of the Tata Estate.



Tata Motors launched Tata Estate in 1992. The car was equipped with coil spring rear suspension and provided a spacious and a comfortable ride. It was the company's first attempt at building a car.The car was considered fairly advanced during its time and had many features which were not common among cars in India at the time including power windows, power steering and a tachometer. The car was a replica of Mercedes-Benz Estate, though in looks it resembled it, an unassailable gap existed in the performance. Tata Estate did better than what many had anticipated it would but not well enough to be continued in the market. The car had the TATA 207 Engine.

 

[cooldhaya]

Yes but this car not a good hit for Tata!

And one correction , even the Sierra had coil spring suspension in the rear along with power windows , power steering and tachometer!!