It did not take long for Indians to take to the automobile. Soon after commercial production of the automobile began in Europe in the 1890s, several motor cars found their way to India. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were several automobiles in the cities of Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Bombay (now Mumbai). Most of the cars that came to India were French, as at the turn of the century France was the number one nation when it came to the production of automobiles. But soon there were cars from the United States (the Oldsmobile Curved Dash amongst others), United Kingdom as well as other European nations.
By 1910, it was estimated that there were over a thousand cars plying in the city of Bombay alone. Bengal Presidency boasted of a car park of over three thousand, most of which were in Calcutta. As more and more cars were imported into India, several European and American firms set up their offices in India over the next two decades. Firms such as De Dion-Bouton, Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Chrysler, Fiat, and others either had offices or a representative in India.
The business for most of the automobile majors grew so much that by 1926, Ford Canada set up an office in India, followed by assembly operations in 1930. General Motors though was off the ground earlier, inaugurating a large factory at Sewri (Bombay) on 4th December 1928 to assemble Chevrolets. Ford went on to set up assembly facilities in Calcutta and Madras (now Chennai) too.
A few attempts may have been made to make automobiles in India until 1920, but not much is known about them. During the 1920s, a Bengali mechanic in Calcutta, Bipin Behari Das lashed together a "homegrown" car, which was then sold to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.
For the Indian entrepreneurs to join the race took a while, but as World War II began the industrialists realized that it would be a matter of time before India would be independent and that there could be an opportunity in establishing assembly facilities for international brands in India. First in the race was Walchand Hirachand who inked a deal with the American Chrysler Corporation. But the first to incorporate their respective assembly units were Hindustan Motors (Birla Group) and Addison's (in Madras) in 1942, with Walchand Hirachand’s Premier Automobiles following in 1944. All were planning to be assemblers, and so all had inked deals with either European or American carmakers. Hindustan Motors, for instance, made plans to assemble Studebakers and Morris, Premier Automobiles to assemble Dodge and Plymouth from Chrysler, as well as Fiat, Addison's serviced Riley and Wolseley models, and Rootes decided to assemble Hillmans and Sunbeams in Calcutta.
Initially, the Indian business firms (mostly family-owned) did not have the wherewithal to invest large sums in setting factories and preferred to take the route of assembling from completely knocked down kits (CKD). When India finally got its independence in 1947, the next phase of automotive history began.
Mahindra & Mohammed, which was established on 2nd October 1945 to trade in steel soon became Mahindra & Mahindra in 1948 after business partner Ghulam Mohammed left for Pakistan to become Pakistan’s first finance minister. Hindustan Motors who were running an assembly unit at Okha Port (then, Bombay Presidency) soon shifted base to West Bengal in 1948 and set up a factory in a town called Uttarpara, about 15 kilometers north of Calcutta.
Premier Automobiles were the first off-the-block getting its factory in the Bombay suburb of Kurla up and running by 1949, when the first set of Dodge, Plymouth and DeSoto badged cars rolled off the lines, along with the first batch of trucks with Dodge, Fargo and DeSoto branding, (Fargo being the brand for trucks sold by the Plymouth dealers).
Credit - Premier Automobiles Limited
The same year, the assembly lines began rolling at Hindustan Motors as the company cleverly signed two deals, one with American car-maker Studebaker and the other with British manufacturer Morris Motors. One of the older American carmakers, Studebaker had a storied history. Starting with horse carriages in 1852, Studebaker migrated to car-making in 1902, initially making electric cars before moving to petrol-engine automobiles. During WWII, even though Studebaker was deeply implicated in the war effort, making amphibious vehicles, many of which found their way to India, they were also preparing for the anticipated post-war market. Thus, into 1946, Studebaker was ready with a brand-new range of cars, which it launched with the famous slogan, “ First by far with a post-war car”. This may have attracted Hindustan Motors to ink an assembly deal with Studebaker.
The Studebakers that Hindustan Motors decided to assemble in India, were, in typical American fashion, big six-cylinder-engine cars, expensive to buy and even more expensive to run. So, a smaller car, one which would appeal to the middle class, was what Hindustan Motors needed. As a complement to the Studebakers, Hindustan Motors decided to tie-up with British car-maker Morris Motors, which had been selling its inexpensive “middle-class” models in India successfully.
to be continued.......
Gautam Sen* – Author^ | Journalist | Design Expert
* his books can be purchased @ Dalton Watson
^ his latest book “The Automobile – An Indian Love Affair” can be purchased @ www.amazon.in