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> the Ambassador was for three decades India's bestselling car That's because there were no other manufacturers.
by unmole 10y ago
> the Ambassador was for three decades India's bestselling car
That's because there were no other manufacturers.
- happy-go-lucky 10y agoThere were: Sipani Automobiles Ltd. and Maruti Udyog Limited. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipani https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipani https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maruti_Suzuki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maruti_Suzuki
- unmole 10y agoMaruti was founded in 1981 and it was the beginning of the end for the Ambassador. Premier was a much bigger player than Sipani.
- IgorPartola 10y agoI was going to ask that. 20k sales per year in a country with 1b people seems really low.
- happy-go-lucky 10y agoIt was so low because of the per capita income that was equally low, and looking into reasons for such a disproportion would lead to a wide-ranging discussion.
- chrismorgan 10y agoIn cities like Kolkata the taxi fleet is Ambassadors. I don’t know what the average age of the vehicles is, but they almost always feel as old as they look. For all its faults, the Ambassador is a robust vehicle.
- bbgm 10y agoTimes have changed a lot. It wasn't until the 90s that the average middle class family could afford a car. The father bought his first car at about the same time I did, except he was 50 and I had just started grad school in the US. Cars were definitely a luxury item while I was growing up. Better incomes, more choice, ability to get car loans, etc have made cars the norm now (in big cities at least).