The Ambassador has been a flag bearer for India’s automobile industry from the very beginning, and Hindustan Motors has announced the imminent availability of its newest avatar, aptly titled the Ambassador Encore.
With an extremely competitive price of just below Rs 5 lakh (ex-showroom, Kolkata), the new ‘Amby’ will boast a BS IV-compliant 1.5-litre diesel engine. Uttam Bose, Managing Director & CEO, Hindustan Motors said, “It is a game-changing offer from HM which has always accorded highest priority to customers’ needs and purchasing power. The company made significant investment in terms of money and man hours to upgrade its BS III 1.5-litre diesel engine to BS IV standards and OBD 2 level. Yet it has chosen not to pass on the expenditure to customers. Through value engineering and cost-efficient manufacturing, HM is able to offer Ambassador Encore at this amazingly low price without any compromise on quality.”
The Encore comes off HM’s Hooghly-based plant’s conveyor belt at the the most opportune moment, because it hits the showrooms just in time to fill the gap created by the West Bengal government’s issue of 2,000 taxi operation permits. This has been done in lieu of their recently announced desire to have a fleet of taxis that don’t refuse a patron regardless of extenuating factors such as distance or weather conditions, and the historically tough Ambassador would seem to fit the bill for this no-refusal segment to the T.