Desperate times call for desperate measures. The very same thing can be said about India’s oldest car manufacturer, Hindustan Motors. The company which went into BIFR recently is planning a come back and has outlined a new set of vehicles to be launched by March, 2012. The company believes that these new products will help them to come out of bankruptcy and post decent numbers in the very competitive Indian car market. HM has completed the development of a 0.8-tonne pickup, a 7 to 9-seater commercial passenger carrier on Ambassador platform, upgraded cargo version of the Winner and a 9-10-seater passenger carrier on LCV Winner platform at its Uttarpara plant in Hooghly, West Bengal. These vehicles will be available in both diesel and CNG models.
Hindustan Motors has also established a CAD-CAE-enabled R&D centre at Uttarpara, which will help them in the design of their products. The company is also developing a Euro IV-compliant CRDI engine in collaboration with a European company and the new engine should be ready for production by March, 2012. The CRDI Generation II engine will meet BS IV norms for both passenger and commercial range of vehicles. Hindustan Motor’s Chennai plant, where the company builds Mitsubishi vehicles, will produce the upgraded Montero, Pajero Sports and 7-seater Outlander.