Delhi Police Good Bye To HM Ambassador!

DELHI POLICE DUMPS THE AMBY FOR THE MARUTI SX4: GAME OVER FOR THE HM AMBASSADOR

If you’re a cop in Delhi, you’d probably be chuffed at the prospect of having a brand new, modern car to ride at work as the Delhi Police Department has just got the go ahead by the Ministry of Home Affairs to replace the age old Hindustan Ambassadors with the modern and fuel efficient Maruti Suzuki SX4. Fuel economy, cost of maintenance, comfort and cost were the prime reasons as to why the now-obsolete Ambassador was dumped in favour of the Maruti Suzuki SX4.

This leaves me wondering whether the death knell has finally been sounded for the Ambassador, which Hindustan Motors still makes and sells with nary a change to compete with modern sedans in India. This move of he Delhi Police Department comes as one more body blow to the already embattled car maker and the iconic HM Ambassador. More and more modern cars like the Maruti Suzuki SX4, the Toyota Corolla and the Hyundai Accent have been seen in Government circles in the recent past.

With the Government still being Hindustan Motors’ main stay when it comes to Ambassador sales, such a dramatic shift from it’s most loyal customer till date, seems like the proverbial sword hanging over HM’s neck. Sooner or later, the iconic Ambassador, which has motored on for the better part of 5 decades now, will die with the ever tapering sales finally forcing HM to pull the plug on the Ambassador’s production.

Along with that, HM’s fate could be intertwined and meet the same end as the automaker does not have any other product worth the mention apart from the Ambassador and it’s alliance with Japanese car maker Mitsubishi, which also is in serious trouble with diminishing sales. And all this can actually be prevented and the iconic Ambassador could live on, if Hindustan Motors gets serious about one of India’s most recognizable and enduring automotive icon.

An all new Ambassador platform, a-la-BMW Mini is what is the need of the hour and if Hindustan Motors gets working on something like this for the Ambassador, India could very well have an icon resurrected in a modern form, which actually could turn out to be a modern classic that sells well too.

Posted in: News