Walchand Hirachand started Premier Automobiles
Ltd (PAL) in 1942. They were the first to
kick off the automobile revolution in India
by assembling De Soto and Plymouth cars
in 1946 in association with Chrysler from
the United States. Also manufactured the
famed Premier Padmini which was the Fiat
1100.
Premier Automobiles was an Indian automaker
which flourished in the so called 'license
raj' period from the 1950s till the early
1990s when India was closed to the world
and imports. The company was formed in 1944,
and built Chrysler Corporation vehicles
(a Plymouth car and a Dodge truck, sold
under the Dodge, Plymouth, DeSoto, and Fargo
names) starting around 1949. They later
made a licensed version of the Fiat 1100
which later continued almost unchanged into
the late 1990s as the Premier Padmini with
a 40hp 1100cc engine.
Later models included the
Premier 118NE so called because it employed
a 1180cc Nissan engine and transmission
(from the Nissan Cherry) while the car itself
was a version of the 1960s Fiat 124 this
was considered a luxury car in India till
the influx of modern cars in the 1990s.
With market liberalisation
Premier tied up with Peugeot to build the
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. The French
had had enough and pulled out of the venture
around 2001 with only a few thousand cars
sold.
The same problems, namely
labour and service, 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
– problems which have dogged it in
India till today.
In November 2004 Premier
restarted operations by building a small
diesel powered van called the Sigma mainly
for the taxi market. It is based on an old
1980s Mitsubishi Varica design licenced
from China Motor in Taiwan, with the Peugeot
engine from the 309. Its success seems questionable
however.
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