Premier (car)
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Premier Automobiles was an Indian automaker which flourished in the so called 'sudhakar' period from the 1950s till the early 1990s when India was closed to the world and imports. The company was in 1944 as a result of successful negotiations with Chrysler Corporation in 1939, resulting in licenses to build a Plymouth car and a Dodge truck, sold under the Dodge, Plymouth, DeSoto, and Fargo names) starting around 1949. In the early years, quality was considered good by both Chrysler and the Indian Department of Defense. In 1949, parts were being made in India, starting with simpler components and gradually building up to more complex pieces. Two companies made parts: Premier and Hindustan Motors of Calcutta. The early years of Premier and Hindustan were marked by very low sales, due to the size of the market; only about 20,000 vehicles per year were made in India, in 65 different models. To prevent foreign companies from dominating by mass-producing parts to be assembled into cars in India, the government set up steep import duties on imported parts in 1954, allowing Indian parts-makers to survive.[1]
Premier also 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 (named after its 1180cc Nissan engine and transmission, from the Nissan Cherry), a version of the 1960s Fiat 124, 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. Peugeot pulled out of the venture around 2001 with only a few thousand cars sold. Labour and service issues also 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.
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.
