Hindustan Motors to sell 'Contessa' brand to SG Corporate Mobility

CK Birla Group firm, Hindustan Motors Ltd on Tuesday said it has agreed to sell its ‘Contessa’ brand to SG Corporate Mobility Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum.

The company has executed a brand transfer agreement with SG Corporate Mobility Pvt Ltd on June 16, 2022 for the transfer of the Contessa brand, including the trademarks having application number and certain related rights of the brand, Hindustan Motors said in a regulatory filing.

The transfer of the brand shall be effective upon fulfilment of the terms and conditions as prescribed in the agreement, it added.

Contessa was a premium sedan sold in India by Hindustan Motors during the 1980s to early 2000s. It was positioned above the company’s then popular model Ambassador.

While it succeeded in creating a mark for itself in the market, the entry of players like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Ford and others in the Indian market posed a stiff challenge to the brand, which it could not withstand and led to its phasing out.

The competition from global players also hit Hindustan Motors badly, which has shut its manufacturing unit at Uttarpara in West Bengal since 2014 and stopped production of the Ambassador car as well. The Ambassador brand was then acquired by French automaker PSA Groupe (now part of Stellantis) for Rs 80 crore in February 2017.