Commercial Vehicles Industry in India-A Case History, 1928-1987

Although Hindustan Motors and Premier Automobiles were established prior to independence, the real history of the Indian automobile industry begins with the Thriff Commission Report of1953, when firms without a phased manufacturing programme were asked to withdraw from India. By 1965, there were seven firms manufacturing commercial vehicles, four of which also produced passenger cars/jeeps. In 1981, the government approved the entry of four new firms (with Japanese collaboration) into the market for light commercial vehicles. This was followed by further liberalisation in industrial policies, viz. broad-banding, exemption from the provisions of sec- tion 21 and 22 of the MRTP Act, and the announcement of minimum economic scales.