Heritage Commercials Magazine - capturing the spirit of vintage days

Comment - January 2011

Take, for example, India. Back in the 1950s the company of Hindustan Motors purchased the tooling and rights to produce the Morris Oxford Series III car, which it sold as the Ambassador. Surprisingly this car is still in production today, although it has had some updating including the fitment of modern Japanese engines.

Similarly, back in the 1950s, the British motorcycle maker Royal Enfield set up a plant in Madras to manufacture its 350cc Bullet. Initially it just assembled kits sent from Britain but eventually started to make them itself. And so when the British factory closed back in 1970 the Indian firm continued and still makes Bullets to this day. Again there has been some updating, including fitting disc brakes and electric starters. There is even a diesel version!

And as well as these lighter vehicles, India also assembled British-designed commercials, such as those sold under the Ashok Leyland name. This firm is now a successful manufacturer in its own right – and you can read all about its history in this issue thanks to a fantastic article from Ed Burrows. Strangely, Ashok Leyland still uses the classic blue ‘L and wheel’ badge used by British Leyland back in the 1970s/80s. In addition, as it is now owned by the London-based Hinduja Group, you could say that it is a British firm!

As well as these companies, Britain had a hand in helping start the motor manufacturing industries in many other countries. A Wolseley design, for example, was one of the first to be produced by a Japanese firm that would later become the car and commercial vehicle maker Isuzu. And at the end of the Second World War it was the British who put Volkswagen back on its feet and got Beetle production under way again. VW is now one of the biggest vehicle making firms in the world, owning Skoda, SEAT and even Bentley. It also owns major parts of Scania and MAN.

So it looks as if there’s one thing we really can do – set up other countries’ industries for them!

Stephen Pullen
Editor