PSA Buys India’s Iconic Ambassador Car Brand

PSA Group has acquired the Ambassador car brand from Hindustan Motors Ltd. for $12 million.

The quirky Ambassador (pictured), is a restyled version of the U.K.’s Morris Oxford Series III sedan, was considered a prestigious model in the Indian market between the late 1950s and mid-1980s. Known for its spacious interior and forgiving suspension, the car was a favorite of government and military officials.

In 2013 the car also was crowned the world’s best taxi by BBC’s Top Gear. But demand for the retro-styled and mechanically primitive Ambassador was already plummeting, and the car went out of production in 2014.

It isn’t clear if or when PSA plans to use the Ambassador name. PSA stopped building cars in India in 1997. But last month it announced it will begin assembling unspecified models there in 2020 through a venture with CK Birla Group, the company that created Hindustan Motors 75 years ago.