Hey Gujaratis! Jubilant over Nano’s entry in the state? But perhaps very few of you are aware of the fact that first car produced in India was produced in Gujarat.

It was year 1942 when late Ghanshyamdas Birla incorporated the first Hindustan Motors plant at Okha in Gujarat. Birla set up his car assembling plant in Okha due to persuasion by VT Krishnamachari, then Dewan of Baroda. Okha was a good size port at that time, suitable for import and export in connection with western world. Hindustan Motors in it’s Okha unit, manufactured the Hindustan 10 (or the Indian version of British Morris 10) in association with Nuffield of United Kingdom.

The Hindustan Ten had a 1148 cc OHV engine that developed 37.2 bhp @ 4600 rpm. Breathing through an SU carburetor, it delivered 10 hp to the road wheels(thence the name Morris Ten) and was capable of 112 km/h.

In 1948 the manufacturing moved to Uttarpara in West Bengal, because it provided cheaper raw material – iron and steel. At it’s new home, Hindustan Motors began the production of the Ambassador and Contessa.

The former Hindustan Motors land and general manager’s bungalow, spread over 50,000 square feet in Okha are now used by industrial units and Coast Guard.

Interestingly while in 1948, Hindustan Motors left Gujarat and went to Bengal, in 2008 Tata Motors has left Bengal and entered Gujarat.