Hindustan Motors recently announced it will launch its iconic model Ambassador with Bharat Stage IV compliant engine soon. Since 2011, sale of diesel powered Ambassador has been discontinued in 14 metropolitan cities after Government elevated the emission norms from BS-III to BS-IV, mandatory for the respective cities. Conceived in 1958, the Ambassador is the first locally manufactured passenger car in India. Additionally, the first monocoque chassis based vehicle to be manufactured in the country.
After BS-IV regulation in metro cities, Hindustan Motors sales has been drastically descended and confronting a crisis term. The company sold only 2500 units of the Ambassador in financial year 2011-2012 and accounted a loss of more than Rs. 250 million for the year. Currently, Hindustan motors offers two diesel options and one petrol engine besides alternative CNG and LPG fuel options on Ambassador. Mostly fleet operators are buying the car.
The petrol and secondary fuel type engines meet the emission norms while none of the two diesel options offered are BS-IV compliant. The new Ambassador BS-IV variant will be powered by the same 1.5-litre diesel engine which is assigned for the current model. The diesel mill produces a power output of 35.5 BHP with torque output of 73 Nm at 2250 RPM. The rotating force is transferred to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual gearbox.
The Ambassador has not been updated since its inception, the retro blunt design with the rugged body structure makes it world’s oldest production car with the least changes in design. Nonetheless, the company has added several essential features like air conditioning, power steering and power windows according to the demanding changes in the market with time. These features will also be seen on the forthcoming model. The new Ambassador is expected to be launched soon and as company officials say, it will wear a new name badge for itself.
