Premier Automobiles
Premier Automobiles is an Indian automaker which monopolized period from the 1950s till the early 1990s when India was closed to the world and imports. In 1949, parts were being made in India, starting with simpler components and gradually building up to more complex pieces. Two companies made parts: Premier and Hindustan Motors of Calcutta. The early years of Premier and Hindustan were marked by very low sales, due to the size of the market; only about 20,000 vehicles per year were made in India, in 65 different models. To prevent foreign companies from dominating by mass-producing parts to be assembled into cars in India, the government set up steep import duties on imported parts in 1954, allowing Indian parts-makers to survive.
Premier also made a licensed version of the Fiat 1100 which later continued almost unchanged into the late 1990s as the Premier Padmini with a 40 hp (30 kW) 1100 cc engine and built at their now defunct Kurla factory in sub-urban Mumbai. Later models included the Premier 118NE (named after its 1180 cc Nissan A engine and transmission from the Nissan Cherry), a version of the 1960s Fiat 124 built in a then-new (but now defunct) factory at Kalyan, considered a luxury car in India till the influx of modern cars in the 1990s. These cars were
With market liberalization Premier tied up with Peugeot to build a outdated scrapped model of the popular Peugeot 309 in India. Initial demand was high but labour problems and poor dealer service led to problems which were compounded when Premier also tied up with old partners Fiat to manufacture the Fiat Uno. Peugeot pulled out of the venture around 2001 after burning their fingers and never to return with only a few thousand cars sold. Labour and service issues also plagued the Fiat venture and a massive strike finally caused the plant to shut around 2001 with Fiat left to fend for itself with its reputation marred. Not only Fiat, but also the Premier Automobiles Ltd., faced severe criticism in
Premier also made a licensed version of the Fiat 1100 which later continued almost unchanged into the late 1990s as the Premier Padmini with a 40 hp (30 kW) 1100 cc engine and built at their now defunct Kurla factory in sub-urban Mumbai. Later models included the Premier 118NE (named after its 1180 cc Nissan A engine and transmission from the Nissan Cherry), a version of the 1960s Fiat 124 built in a then-new (but now defunct) factory at Kalyan, considered a luxury car in India till the influx of modern cars in the 1990s. These cars were
With market liberalization Premier tied up with Peugeot to build a outdated scrapped model of the popular Peugeot 309 in India. Initial demand was high but labour problems and poor dealer service led to problems which were compounded when Premier also tied up with old partners Fiat to manufacture the Fiat Uno. Peugeot pulled out of the venture around 2001 after burning their fingers and never to return with only a few thousand cars sold. Labour and service issues also plagued the Fiat venture and a massive strike finally caused the plant to shut around 2001 with Fiat left to fend for itself with its reputation marred. Not only Fiat, but also the Premier Automobiles Ltd., faced severe criticism in