Type | Automobile manufacturer |
---|---|
Industry | Automotive |
Founded | 1948 |
Defunct | 2006 |
Fate | defunct |
Headquarters | Perungalathur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
Key people | K.V. Srinivasan, C.V. Karthik Narayanan, A. C. Muthiah |
Products | Automobiles Commercial Vehicles |
Number of employees | n/a |
Standard Motor Products of India Limited otherwise known as Stampro for short, formerly known as Union Motors , [1] was an Indian automobile manufacturer based in Chennai which produced Standard cars and light commercial vehicles in collaboration with Standard-Triumph of England. The company was established in 1948 and was in operation till 1988. [2] [3]
Standard Motor Products of India , then known as STAMPRO was established by C. V. Karthick Narayanan, grandson of C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar [4] .It was a joint venture between Union Motors India and Standard Motor Company in United Kingdom to assembly Standard range of cars in India. The factory was set up at then outskirts of Chennai, at Perungalathur, east of Tambaram in 1948.
The first car to roll out from this facility in 1951 was the Standard Vanguard Phase I Saloon. Later the compact 1953 model Standard Eight were launched followed by 1954 Standard Ten. In late fifties Standard Pennant was launched followed by a station wagon version. Also during the 50's, the larger Standard Vanguard Phase III Saloon was also offered side by side.
In the 1960s the company launched the Standard Atlas commercial Van. This model was changed slightly for the Indian market and redesigned as panel van as well as passenger van and was sold as a Standard 20 which continued well into 1980s. Later versions offered a pickup version as well as a passenger version.
During the mid-1950s following the drop in sales for Standard and Vanguard models, the Triumph name was used for upcoming models and the Triumph Herald was relaunched in India as Standard Herald. The Indian model had four-door version and used the engine from the earlier Standard models.
In the mid-1970s Standard Motors India launched the Standard Gazel model, which was developed in-house based on the Standard Herald model. But soon the sales dropped to such a dismal low that the company stopped production and continued with its Standard Atlas vans and pickups.
In the mid-1980s the central government relaxed the investment regulations and Tariff Commission regulations and allowed all Indian automobile companies to have a technical tie-up with foreign counterparts. SMPL once again sought the collaboration with its old partner now under Rover group. The 1976 Rover SD1 was launched in India in 1985 as Standard 2000 and was priced at the premium end. The sales dropped when customers complained that the 1950s Vanguard powered Rover wasn't quick enough and was a notorious gas guzzler. Soon the company became near bankrupt and was taken over by A.C. Muthiah group.
Further BIFR intervention in investments and consolidation of commercial vans segment did not help the company and in the late 1990s the company ceased operations. In 2005 the company was liquidated and the land sold to Shriram Chits group. The space is today an IT office park named Shriram The Gateway Office Park in Perugalathur.
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Standard was an Indian brand of automobile which was produced by Standard Motor Products of India Limited (SMPIL) in Madras from 1951 to 1988. Indian Standards were variations of vehicles made in the United Kingdom by Standard-Triumph. Standard Motor Products of India Ltd. (STAMPRO) was incorporated in 1948, a company formed by Union Company (Motors) Ltd. and the British Standard Motor Company. Their first product was the Standard Vanguard. The company was dissolved in 2006 and the old plant was torn down.
The Standard Vanguard is a car which was produced by the Standard Motor Company in Coventry, England, from 1947 until 1963.
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