‘Hindustan Motors’, the manufacturer of the iconic ‘Ambassador’ car

Recognize the logo of the car?

It used to be THE most iconic vehicle.

The logo you see in the picture is of ‘Hindustan Motors’, the manufacturer of the iconic ‘Ambassador’ car.

Once an icon on the roads of India, it has now been reduced to the ‘laal batti’ and ‘kaali peeli taxi’.

Hindustan Motors first launched the car in 1958 and it remained in production till 2014.

But, what went wrong?

Resistance to change is one of the many factors which led to the demise of this model.

HM took their first hit in the 1990s as liberalisation of the economy happened. Maruti 800 launched which gave a much better value proposition.

Even after years of declining sales, executives at Hindustan Motors did not take action.

Minimal R&D spends, no marketing strategy and a lack of proactive management all led to the eventual downfall of HM.

Other companies that were resistant to change met a similar fate eg. Nokia and Blackberry.

What’s the lesson in this for startups?

Be proactive and almost paranoid about competition.
Spend on R&D – today’s product market fit does not guarantee tomorrow’s success
Be ready to pivot – have a management team that is accepting of changing times.

These lessons are especially valuable as AI is coming in ready to change the nature of business across industries.

Pivot. Innovate. Survive.

#startups #innovation