Hindustan Motors in Talks for JV With European Auto Company

Discussions are underway on a joint venture between Hindustan Motors and a European vehicle company focused on the electric vehicle (EV) space. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed and due diligence is expected to begin shortly and take 23 months to complete.

Uttam Bose, director at Hindustan Motors said, “Initially the project will launch two-wheeler and subsequently four-wheelers.” Negotiations on a joint venture are underway, but Bose did not rule out the possibility that the company will invest in Hindustan Motors (HM) owned by Birla.

In a note to the 2010 annual financial results, management declared a "suspension of work" at the Uttarpara plant on May 24, 2014, due to low productivity, lack of discipline, lack of funds, and lack of product demand. The Pithampur plant declared its dismissal on December 4, 2014.

The Uttarpara factory, where the ambassadors were set up, stopped production with the end of the iconic brand. Modeled after Morris Oxford, it was a long slide for brand ambassadors.

The new HM joint venture will use 295 acres of Uttarpara for projects that remain in the company. Originally HM had about 700 acres in Uttarpara. However, in 2007 the company signed a 314-acre deal with Shriram Properties, which was a surplus. Last year, the Hiranandani Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding with HM to acquire 100 acres for logistics and hyper-scale data center parks.