Product and Brand management

Introduction and History of Brand

The brand about which I am talking about is Hindustan Motors founded in 1942 that also 77
years ago by B.M. Birla. The company is an Indian automotive manufacturer based
in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is a part of the Birla Technical Services industrial group.
The company was the largest car manufacturer in India before the rise of Maruti Udyog.

Hindustan Motors use to manufacture Ambassador Motorcar, which was once a mainstream
car in India and even today also Ambassador is living in the hearts of the people because it
firstly it was the first car in India and going towards the performance Ambassador is today
also one of the strongest and reputed cars in India. Even today also Ambassador Cars are
used by government official and also used by highly officials in Army which do tell us that
today also Ambassador is running on roads of India.

Ambassador has been in production since 1958 with few modifications or changes and is
based on the Morris Oxford III model first made by the Morris Motor Company at Crowley,
Oxford in the United Kingdom from 1956 to 1959.

On 11 February 2017, Hindustan Motors executed an agreement with PSA Group for the sale
of the Ambassador brand, including the trademarks, for a consideration of ₹80 crore (US$12
million). The tie-up entails two joint-venture agreements between the companies of the two
groups.

Ambassador is considered as a definitive Indian car and is fondly called "The king of Indian
roads". The automobile is manufactured by Hindustan Motors at its Uttarpara plant near
Kolkata, West Bengal. It was the most popular car in India and is perceived to be best suited
to the harsh Indian terrain due to its very good suspension. Its iconic status was helped by the
fact that it was the preferred means of conveyance of India's political leadership.
When the Birla’s wanted a new model to replace their already old Hindustan models based on
Morris Oxford Series II (Hindustan Landmaster), they scouted for the then new Morris
Oxford Series III. The car initially came with a side valve engine but was later improved to
an overhead valve engine. Also the car at that point was quite an innovation with a fully
enclosed monocoque chassis, which is why it is spacious inside.

Everyone in India knows what the Hindustan Ambassador is. As a symbol of India’s
automotive history, there is little else that defines motoring in the country like it. From a
mode of mass transport as the most popular Taxi in India at one point of time, to the de facto
‘politician’s preferred car’, to a symbol of status in some parts of the country, the
Ambassador has seen it all. In fact, the Ambassador was even raced and rallied in the 70s and
80s in rallies like the gruelling Karnataka 1000 and the Himalayan Rally with positive results.
Of course, most of us will remember the Ambassador fondly through a childhood memory in
the spacious rear seat or as a car someone in the neighbourhood had.

That said, since the Ambassador brand name is due for a revival, let us take you through a
quick history of the car’s humble beginnings in the United Kingdom and how it made it to
India in its various avatars.

The Ambassador remained in continuous production from its inception, with very few
improvements or changes. In 1948, Hindustan Motors shifted its assembly plant from Port
Okha in Gujarat to Uttar Para/Hind motor in West Bengal's Hooghly district and strengthened
its manufacturing capacity in the automobile segment.

Sale of Ambassador Taxis has been outlawed since 1 April 2011, a year after BS IV emission
standards were rolled out in 11 Indian cities, including Kolkata. In later years, Hindustan
Motors fitted the cars with a cleaner diesel engine in order to comply with new emission
rules, allowing it to resume taxi service in cities such as Kolkata, one of the cities in which
the vehicle had been banned.

About the Product

The Ambassador was basically the same Morris Oxford Series - III, launched by Morris, then
a part of British Motor Corporation. In 1956 it sold the rights and tooling to Hindustan
Motors as it had done for its previous Series - I and Series - II models which were sold by
Hindustan Motors as Hindustan 10 and Landmaster. The Series -III model itself was a
derivative of the Morris Oxford Series - II model which was developed prior to the Austin
and Morris merger. The car was quite spacious due to its semi-monocoque design which was
quite advancement in the early 1950s in vehicle engineering. The car was designed by Alec
Issigonis whose other famous designs were Mini and Morris Minor.

Ambassador was one of the few cars that were in production following the 1954 government
policy of promoting indigenous Automobile industry; it had market dominance for its
spacious size compared to its rivals like Premier Padmini and Standard 10. Production of
Hindustan Ambassador at its plants outside the cities of Kolkata and Chennai ended due to
weak demand and financing problems. Prior to the cancellation, the company had sold 2,200
Ambassadors in the financial year which ended in March 2014, only a tenth of the sales the
Ambassador reached in the mid-eighties.

The car was briefly imported to the United Kingdom in 1992 (as the Fullbore Mark 10). The
cars were retrofitted with a heater and seat belts in order to comply with European safety
legislation, but only a tiny number were ever sold, and the importer went into liquidation.

Current Situation Analysis

Hindustan Motors Ambassador is one of the most iconic and historic cars manufactured in
India for the longest period in the country. Ambassador brand making a comeback in India is
not just exciting but also further emphasizes the success and the impact it has had on India
and its customers. Hindustan Motors owned Ambassador car was present in India from 1958
to 2014 and be it a politician or a celebrity, the Ambassador in its early years was an
aspiration product. Everyone wanted one and the sitting inside the car made the owner feel a
very important person. Ambassador was also the first car to be built in India just after a
decade of independence. Towards the end of its lifecycle, the Ambassador failed to keep up
with the technology, comfort and there existed better cars on roads and declining sales led
Hindustan Motors ceasing the production of the Ambassador. Now though, the Hindustan
Ambassador car might make a comeback in India in a French avatar. There are a series of
turnarounds for this iconic brand and now sources close the development now says that there
will be a big revelation around the Ambassador brand and PSA Groupe India strategy in 2019
and will revolve around the Ambassador brand but will not be restricted to this brand alone.
More official details on this are expected to to be revealed around September/October 2018.

A PSA spokesman had earlier confirmed that the company could add the Ambassador brand
to its lineup to make the PSA famous in India. Hindustan Motors' owners C K Birla has
signed a joint venture with French Automaker PSA Group that owns global car brands like
Peugeot, Citroen and DS Brands. The 50:50 joint venture between C K Birla Group and PSA
Groupe has seen an investment of Rs 700 crore to set up its base, establish manufacturing
units in India and very soon the company will start its activities and talk about its dealership
and product strategy in India.

PSA Groupe has acquired the brand Ambassador from Hindustan Motors for Rs 80 crore in
February 2017. The joint venture between PSA and C.K Birla is in the final stages of
construction of its power train plant in Hour, Tamil Nadu that will have an annual capacity of
2 lakh units

PSA Group and CK Birla will further invest in this power train plant to support a progressive
ramp up. The Hour plant is likely to be operational by early 2019 and will manufacture
gearboxes and engines for both India and export markets.

This is the third big attempt by PSA Groupe to enter India and with an iconic brand like
Ambassador already at their disposal; it should make it easy for the French carmaker to make
a grand entry. PSA had withdrawn its partnership with Premier Automobiles after launching
just one car in India in the 1990s. The company had also acquired land in Gujarat to set up a
manufacturing plant in 2011. But, due to the financial crisis in Europe, the company had to
delay its India plans once again. We expect the company to be lucky for the third time if they
spearhead their operations with the Ambassador brand being used on a competitive product.

PSA Groupe and C.K Birla aim to roll out the first car as a result of this venture in 2020.
Sources suggest that the first product will be a hatchback and will take on the likes of Maruti
Suzuki Baleno and Hyundai i20 in the segment and will also be exported to other countries.
These new cars will be built at the Hindustan Motors' plant in Chennai.

Going forward, this venture will see the rollout of a mid-size sedan to rival Honda City and
Hyundai Verna and later a compact SUV which will challenge Renault Duster and Hyundai
Creta. Another likely scenario is the brand Ambassador might be used in an array of
products. However, a new sedan version of Ambassador is more likely on cards as it suits the
image of the iconic car. These new cars and SUVs from PSA Groupe coming to India will
make its market debut phase wise starting late 2019 early 2020 and we expect the company to
confirm the revival of Ambassador towards the end of this year.

Brand reviving strategies of Ambassador

Amplify the Brand Story

Ambassador is a very classic brand and the car is a symbol of status and pride still now, the
brand evolved in the Indian Government Institutional Usage car for over 6 decades now so,
the brand ambassador being one of the 1st Sedan in India holds its virtue and brand image
strong.

Amplifying the brand story in the sense, presenting the story of the brand to the audience in a
style which emotionally attaches directly to the customers, this helps the Brand to revitalize
from its roots, from its original form, what it was, how it evolved and what it’s going to be
now. Amplifying the story of the brand is a not an easy task, its matter of lot of homework
and attachment points, this will be created by an efficient manner of connectivity between the
old customers and new customers with the company and brand.

The brand can use Testimonials of previous employees who worked to manufacture the brand
and how perfectly it was build, the brand can use the testimonials of existing customers
who’ve purchased the newest model of the car which cars stopped production in 2014 and
how that version is doing, The brand Ambassador is so much powerful that people who’re
fond of cars some of the people and millennials keep it in their garage in exceptional
condition and which shows their parents love out of nostalgia and memorial. So, there are a
lot of cues Ambassador can use to begin its brand revitalizing strategy.
Diversified Marketing Campaigns with strong storytelling and message delivering ability so
that it can help the amplification of the Brand story, use of digital marketing, moment
marketing and road shows and test drive campaigns, Customer Testimonials.

Customer-centric Approach

Cars were never customer centric and will never be, because as Sir Henry Ford said
“Customers don’t know what they want”, but being customer centric in the Automobile
Industry is being proactive, that is adapting a futuristic approach for the products, Speculating
what customer wants before he even knows through Opportunistic mapping and need or want
analysis.

So, current situation of India where EV’s are at dawn and competition of technology is very
red, Maruti is planning to bring up a Hybrid engine of Electricity and Fuel but the demand for
the vehicles is not quite satisfying. So, coming back with a newly reformed, innovative and
stylish look outperforming all the existing sedans is what allows Ambassador take back it’s
throne.

Customers now-a-days are more knowledgeable and moving towards safety and security
more. So, this it explains what to do to attract customer, making him believe that the brand
thinks more about the Customers safety and security than he could ever think of, Moreover
Consumer brand based equity model can also be used to enhance customer awareness.

Going the Extra mile

It’s an analogy and a strategy which made companies like Tesla, Apple, and Microsoft
successful every time and it works, because you create the differentiation among your
existing competitors, and you set a pace for the new entrants.

Going an Extra mile with the marketing, with the product and relaunching strategies. With an
extent of Digital Marketing it’s much easier to reach to all the target customers and
understand their needs earlier through their social footprint. Enhancing product adapting
latest and most innovative features to your product, Investing in Research and Development
gets all your ROI slowly or faster but, bringing up innovations from R&D department to the
Roads and Customers is a very challenging task.

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

There was a car which was Released and manufactured by Dilip Chhabaria “Ambierod” it
was a modified and luxurious version of Ambassador, very premium and expensive
resembling Rolls Royce’s limited-edition models. This Car grabbed a lot of attention from the
market when it was showcased in Auto Expo 2010. The market has already assumed a better
and stylish version of the Brand Ambassador and it’s the company’s part now how the
company is going to address it.

The new targeting and positioning strategy for the ambassador is a very vital one because no
matter the product gets old after some time but the Brand Image is immortal which stays
forever, So, Ambassador Brand repositioning strategy is reincarnation of the older one, the
Status Symbol, the Luxury the older version olds the same should be brought back for the
current market.

Sedans in India are quite popular, and the market is potential for the premium cars segment.
Currently sedans are Hyundai by Verna, Honda Citi, Skoda Rapid, Maruti Ciaz, Toyota’s
Etios and Yaris fall in a segment of 7-11 Lakhs, Whereas Mercedes Benz, Hyundai Elantra,
Honda Civic fall in range of 15-30 Lakhs. We can clearly understand Indian Sedan Market is
very potential in Premium sedans. So, Ambassador’s Targeting Strategy must be Premium
customers. And thus with premium price comes premium and innovative features.

Relaunching With Company owned showrooms

As it’s well evident Ambassador or PSA automobiles doesn’t have company owned
showrooms, nor Peugeot has any existing showrooms in India. So, it’ll be advisable for the
PSA which purchased Ambassador to open Company Owned Showrooms.

This leads to two options one is to launch Peugeot in India with its car and Ambassador as its
another car under Peugeot, the other is to Re-launch ambassador as a new brand with its own
exclusive showrooms with different variants of Ambassador cars. The second one is efficient
and easiest one, Peugeot can use Ambassador to launch its cars in India after Ambassador
becomes successful here.

So, to target all the kinds of customers Ambassador may launch in Hybrid Engine model, and
EV model and some other variants in coming time, this allows the brand to earn some loyalty
from the customers, as customers feel more reliability if they have a branded physical
existence to rely on.

Research and Surveys or Market Study

Any strategy implemented has a blue print, so the stronger the blue print the lesser the risk of
strategy implementation failure. So, this needs the kind of deeper market study to answer
some of the important questions like:

1. Is your brand cluttered?

To reach up to the customers and let them hear you clearly, you need to answer this
question and if yes why and how you’re going to make your brand break through the
clutter. In Ambassador’s case there’s a lot of clutter present in customers minds
mainly the millennials regarding the old orthodox look, the cabin of the car, aesthetics
of the vehicle etc.
2. When is the right time to relaunch?
This is also one of the most important questions, we answered how to relaunch but
when is also the tougher task. If the company wants its brand to be sustainable then
this question must be important for it to answer, our analysis suggests that launching
at a time when the competitors have already brought a car and it’s sales are at
saturation period and the market is yearning for a new product with great features than
the existing ones an innovative one.
3. Are the themes and the ads well designed and addressed?
How the Advertisement designed in context of every theme and how they address and
inform the customer thoroughly about your product. These days Advertisements with
social messages with them grab more attention. So, how the theme of the campaign
and the campaign is designed to address and attract more audience. So, they can hear
and understand clearly.

References:
http://dcambierod.blogspot.com/
https://www.motorbeam.com/ambassador-india-relaunch-psa-ev-brand/
https://www.news18.com/news/auto/ambassador-to-re-enter-india-as-electric-only-
model-psa-groupplans-2022-launch-report-2084501.html
https://www.cartoq.com/peugeot-hindustan-ambassador-contessa-electric-vehicle/
https://www.cardekho.com/carmodels/Hindustan_Motors/Hindustan_Motors_Ambass
ador
https://www.indiatoday.in/auto/cars/story/hindustan-motors-ambassador-everything-
you-need-toknow-india-peugeot-france-960171-2017-02-11

With Regards to Ashwani Panesar Sir

From Ramit Khurana
11602558
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