Ambassador Brand To Make a Comeback in Electric Avatar, Says Owner PSA

• Published On: 28 June 2019
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France’s PSA Group planning to relaunch Ambassador in India as an electric compact SUV.

Hindustan Ambassador is still a legendary name in the Indian car market. As is common knowledge by now, the defunct model is on the course to make a comeback in the Indian market as France’s PSA Group had purchased the rights to use the name Ambassador in 2017 and has since been working on bringing the iconic ride back to Indian market.

PSA Group is all set to bring the Citroen to India in 2021 but not there are reports on the internet claiming that the French brand will bring the Ambassador to India as an electric vehicle. This could mean that the iconic car of India will come back in an all new electric avatar and the market couldn’t be more excited. Back in 2017 when the French brand acquired the rights to Ambassador, Hindustan Motors had released a statement:

“Ambassador has been an iconic brand and a surplus asset with us. We were looking for a suitable opportunity and found the right buyer in the PSA group. We intend to use the proceeds from the sale in clearing dues of employees, lenders and others.”

French maker Peugeot already has a lot of e-concepts in their line-up and some of them could make their way to India under the iconic brand name. A name that comes to mind when talking of Peugeot’s e-concepts is the e-Legend. The concept was electric but featured an edgier and old school styling. However, there is no confirmation from the brand that e-Legend concept would make its way to India under the Ambassador brand, but one can always hope for more!

The online report further stated that the French maker will first bring a compact SUV or crossover under the famed Ambassador brand in India and at a later stage a premium hatch could also make its way under the same brand. The Ambassador brand will then focus on electric cars only, but these upcoming models would share parts with a fossil fuel Citroen car. Through this the company is planning to leverage the economies of scale in its favor and reap profits from the Ambassador brand within the first three months of launch.

The French company has hinted that the upcoming Ambassador brand could be an online retail option only with the remaining services being provided by Citroen to the customers. Also, the Ambassador brand will make its Indian entry after the Citroen establishes here meaning we are looking at a post 2022 launch date for Ambassador brand in India.

Not to mention that PSA is also bringing in its Formula-E experience to the mass market as one of the company’s brands, the DS, has already stated its electric car launch plan for the European home market. The new EVs from the brand in Europe will use the E-Tense branding and the DS3 Crossback E-Tense may be the first EV from the brand in Europe. One can expect a similar car is not the same one coming to India under the Ambassador brand as well.

The Ambassador brand is not only to remain limited to India as the brand also hopes the name will find resonance in other right-hand drive markets the world over. As far as the Indian launch is concerned, the name is still fresh in the Indian public’s mind and has certain nostalgia attached to it that might go a long way in helping the brand succeed in the Indian market.