The acquisition was for INR 80 crore
CK Birla controlled Hindustan Motors Ltd - maker of the iconic Ambassador car - has sold the ‘Ambassador’ brand to French carmaker Peugeot.
According to a notification to the bourses, the “brand and certain related rights” have been sold for ₹80 crore.
Kolkata-based Hindustan Motors had suspended production of Ambassadors way back in May 2014 citing weak demand and lack of funds.
The price point could be Rs 5.5-6 lakh and go up to Rs 9 lakh. The BS IV-compliant Ambassador Encore, launched in 2013, was priced at around Rs 4.98 lakh.
According to the contours of the arrangement, Peugeot had acquired not just the mother brand Ambassador but all its variants as well.
However, the sale doesn’t include the Uttarpara plant in West Bengal, where the Ambassador used to be manufactured.
But Peugeot forged a broader deal with the C K Birla Group last month.
That includes two joint venture agreements. In the first, PSA would hold a majority stake in a joint venture with Hindustan Motors Finance Corporation (HMFC) for assembling and distributing PSA passenger cars in India.
The Chennai plant, which was hived off from Hindustan Motors, assembles Mitsubishi cars and Isuzu commercial vehicles.
PSA will also set up an equal joint venture with AVTEC, also formerly part of Hindustan Motors, for manufacturing and supplying power-trains.
