The new People’s Car’

Press, 14 April 1984, Page 28

The new People’s Car’

By

PETER CHIPPINDALE

in Bombay; India India’s transport scene, frozen in time for the last 25 years, is about to be revolutionised by a new People’s Car. Today any new visitor to the country finds himself amazed by the antiquity of the various forms of transport on the roads. This is not just a matter of aged vehicles kept running through constant repair but also “new” cars and motorcycles on sale in the showrooms. Almost without exception the designs date from the 1950 s and, although there have been a few cosmetic changes, basically the vehicles are unchanged. Now, in a big shake-up, the Indians are at last to be allowed to buy comparatively modern designs and experience the sort of motoring that has been available elsewhere for two decades. The reason India has been

kept in the past has been the strict Government policy that whenever possible goods must be made at home. For cars and motorcycles it took the form in the 1950 s of Indian manufacturers making foreign products under licence, importing the necessary plant and machinery, which still remain in use.

By 1960 what was available in the showrooms had frozen. If you want to buy a car, there are two basic choices. You can have the Ambasador, which is a 1950 s version of the British Morris Oxford, or the Premier which is a similarly ancient Fiat 1100 design from Italy. The motor-cycle industry turns out such now longforgotten British makes as the Ariel, the Enfield Bullet, and the Matchless. The manufacturers are shielded from competition by a ban on vehicles imported from abroad, except for a few for such buyers as

foreign embassies and others which are smuggled in against the law. Some manufacturers, such as S. Viswanathian, managing director of Enfield, defend the policy on the ground that the vehicles were perfect for India. Oldfashioned they may be, but they are strong and reliable and well understood by mechanics. Continuity of production makes spare parts easy to obtain and the older vehicles can be cannibalised to keep new ones running. Their limited performance is suitable for India’s crowded, pot-holed roads. Against such arguments stands the relatively high fuel consumption of the ancient designs. Now the Japanese are breaking into the market. Honda and Yamaha have signed contracts to produce lightweight motor-cycles which are already the talk of the younger generation.

Enfield is teaming up with Zundapp of Munich with a $4O million factory outside Madras to produce bikes of from 50 to 175 cu cm. The big question, however, is cars. Now on the point of coming into the showrooms is the longawaited Marvti People’s Car, developed in conjunction with Suzuki. This was originally under the control of Mrs Gandhi’s late son, Sandijay, and has been under development for 10 years. The Indian public has already put down $lO5 million in deposits for it. At a selling price of $4750, it will vastly undercut existing cars. With the People’s Car on the road, the other manufacturers will be unable to hold the line against modernisation. Critics, however, see it as India dissipating its resources in banal imitation of the West. — Copyright, London Observer Service.