Premier Automobiles Limited
Premier is an Indian automobile manufacturer in Mumbai, India.
The company was founded in 1944 and had its heyday in the so-called " license Reich" period from 1950 to the early 1990s, when India was partitioned off by tariff barriers on imports and foreign investment. Motor vehicles were first produced for foreign licenses.
From 1949 vehicles of the Chrysler Corporation ( a Plymouth and a Dodge truck) were built under the brand name Dodge, Plymouth, DeSoto and Fargo.
Later, Premier produced for the Indian market Lizenznachbauten the Fiat models 1100 ( Cento Mille ) as Premier Padmini and 124 as a Premier 118 The Fiat Mille Cento came in the original version from 1953 and was built in countless models. In India, it made up in the 1990s, the Model 1100 D, whose first version was produced in Europe at the beginning of the 1960s; produced in Germany to this model - also license - as NSU - Fiat Neckar or Europe from 1963 to 1965 in Heilbronn. The Premier 100 Delight corresponded to the 4 m long four-door Fiat 1100 D with the 40 -hp 1200 - cc engine. Offered was also the so-called drive-away chassis. This version lacked the bodywork from the B-pillar, so that combination, ambulance and pickup bodies were possible.
The added later Premier 118 NE got its name by the 1180 cc engine, which was borrowed together with the drive unit, the Nissan Cherry. The body and the rest of the technology came from a version of the Fiat 124 from the 1960s which has been considered in India to import modern cars in the 1990s as a luxury car. Was used the body of the Seat 124D, a reshaped Spanish Licensed Product of the Italian Fiat.
After the liberalization of the Indian market in the 1990s, Premier association with Peugeot and Peugeot manufactured the 309 under license. Initially, the demand was high. Problems with the workforce and the poor service by the dealer, which resulted from the collaboration with the old partner Fiat in the production of the Fiat Uno, however, led in 2001 to the withdrawal of the French. The Peugeot 309 was sold in India only a few thousand times.
The same problems, strikes and a lack of service, also impacted the sales of Fiat models: A massive strike in 2001 led to the closure of the factory and damaged the reputation of the brand in India sustainable.
In November 2004, Premier took the small diesel-powered vans Premier Sigma manufacturing on the back. The vehicle is based on a license of Mitsubishi Minicab from the 1980s by China Motor in Taiwan. It is powered by a derived from the Peugeot 309 engine and is built mainly for the taxi market.
Current Models
- Premier Rio (based on Daihatsu Terios 2)
- Premier Roadstar Road Star (based on Mitsubishi Minicab 3rd generation )
- Premier Roadstar Tipper (based on Mitsubishi Minicab 3rd generation )
- Premier Sigma (based on Mitsubishi Minicab 4th generation )
- Premier Sigma Lifeline ( ambulance on Sigma platform )
- Premier Sigma Express ( van on Sigma platform )
- Premier Sigma School Van ( school bus on Sigma platform )
- Premier Sigma Tourist Van ( diesel or CNG Van at Sigma platform )