• An Ambassador car stands parked in the porch of an old building in Bangalore.
    An Ambassador car stands parked in the porch of an old building in Bangalore.
  • A defunct Ambassador car now a donor of spare parts stands parked at a garage in Bangalore.
    A defunct Ambassador car now a donor of spare parts stands parked at a garage in Bangalore.
  • An Ambassador car stands parked in front of a graffiti on a wall in Bangalore.
    An Ambassador car stands parked in front of a graffiti on a wall in Bangalore.
  • Government owned Ambassador cars of bureaucrats exit the state legislative assembly building, the ‘Vidhana Soudha’ in Bangalore.
    Government owned Ambassador cars of bureaucrats exit the state legislative assembly building, the ‘Vidhana Soudha’ in Bangalore.
  • Defunct Ambassador cars of the state government gather dust at a parking lot in Bangalore.
    Defunct Ambassador cars of the state government gather dust at a parking lot in Bangalore.
  • A defunct Ambassador car now a donor of spare parts stands parked at a garage in Bangalore.
    A defunct Ambassador car now a donor of spare parts stands parked at a garage in Bangalore.
  • An unclaimed Ambassador car stands rusting on the parking lot of a local police station in Bangalore.
    An unclaimed Ambassador car stands rusting on the parking lot of a local police station in Bangalore.

India’s Ambassadors Autos by Manjunath Kiran / AFP

RJ Mickelson

June 16, 2014

  • English
  • Arabic

The maker of India’s Ambassador car has suspended production, citing debt and lack of demand for the iconic vehicle which came to define the country’s political class, a company official said May 24, 2014. Hindustan Motors, India’s oldest car maker, has shut down its factory at Uttarpara in West Bengal state, where it has been making the Ambassador -- based on Britain’s long-defunct Morris Oxford since 1957.

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