Back in the day, only HM Ambassadors got factory fitted number plates

This can be very well taken as a customer-centric, plus point for Hindustan Motors, who have been trolled for cost cutting since ages, even before the term “trolling” was much in vogue.

BHPian anjan_c2007 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

During the pre-HSRP era, almost no brand new cars other than Ambassadors came with number plates fitted from factories as OE. We are not discussing the post-HSRP era, as the rules of the game have changed now.

Going back to the old days, I can remember that only Ambassadors, right from the oldest (1957-58) to the newest (2014), came fitted with their front and rear number plates, fresh from HM’s Uttarpara factory. The temporary yellow number plates with red alpha-numericals (Temp WGK xxxx/post July 1988 : WB 16T xxxx) were bolted to the OE number plates. Other car makers have always passed the buck to their customers, who have spent various amounts from their pockets for the fitment.

Above:- Launch of the Mark II in October 1963 at M/s Sah and Sanghi, Bombay

Above picture is from 1966 of the HM factory- picture courtesy Mr Ravi Chandran whose Dad is seen in the photo

Perhaps its was all in the genes. As you can see from the Morris siblings' under BMC (British Motor Corporation) umbrella in this advertisement of 7.10.1953, Ambassador’s predecessors too from the U.K. came with OE number plates.

Hence, this can be very well taken as a customer-centric, plus point for Hindustan Motors, who have been trolled for cost cutting since ages, even before the term “trolling” was much in vogue.

Its competitors Fiats/Premiers were the “happy go lucky” kinds without the OE number plates. The temporary number plates (Temp MRB xxxx) from the Premier Automobiles Ltd (PAL) factory in yellow background with red alpha-numericals were affixed to the front and rear bumpers. Since the oldest Fiats (1955 Fiat Millecento advertisement available) from PAL was launched, till the newest Padminis/137D or 118NE’s/1.38D/Viceroy, none can be seen with OE number plates.

Also Willys/Jeep/Mahindras fell in the “no” OE number plate category. Their temporary registrations from the factory (Temp MRB xxxx) in yellow and red were also affixed to the front and rear, black painted bumpers.

About Standard cars viz. Super 8/10/10 Pennant/Herald/ Gazel/2000, I am unable to recollect or authenticate and would welcome updates, if any, from fellow team-bhpians.

Thereafter, almost no new generation car from the Maruti onwards has had factory fitted number plates. Transportation of these cars by trucks did away with the requirement of factory fitted, temporary number plates/stickers. If fellow team-bhpians can recollect any of the new generation cars fitted with OE number plates, their views would be welcome.

On the contrary, quite many two wheelers right from the 50 cc ones to Royal Enfield 350/500 cc came fitted with OE rear number plates from their factories since ages. For the RE Bullet the rear number plate was and still is an integral part of its design, since it first came here in 1955. A majority of two wheelers however never required any number plate on the front. The front mudguard for bikes or the front fender for scooters had space to paint the registration numbers. But since a few decades, the front number plate is required to be separate, and not an integral part of its bodyline.

An early 1950's Jawa Perak- the signature rear number plate of the Jawa was carried over to the next generation Jawas and Yezdis

A late 1950's RE Bullet. Its rear number plate remains the same.

The once very popular Bajaj Cub with its factory fitted rear number plate. It was affixed with three nuts and bolts right since its earliest designs (Vespa 150) in India.

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