On 11 February 2017, Hindustan Motors executed an agreement with PSA Group for the sale of the Ambassador brand, including the trademarks, for a consideration of ₹80 crore (US$9.2 million).

The production continued till 1954, after which the Landmaster based on the Morris Oxford Series II was introduced, with the same 1476 cc side valve engine, drawn from the earlier Hindustan 14.

The political influence of the Birla family helped ensure that the Ambassador was one of the few cars that were in production following the 1954 government policy of promoting an indigenous Automobile industry.

[4] By the early 1980s, the comparatively expensive Ambassador's low fuel economy and poor quality began to hinder sales.

[5] The Ambassador remained dominant in the official and company sectors, while also popular as a taxi, but private motorists gradually abandoned the "Amby" in the 1980s and 1990s.

Production of Hindustan Ambassador at its plants outside the cities of Kolkata and Chennai ended owing to weak demand and financing problems.

Earlier in 2017 Hindustan Motors had sold the Ambassador brand to the French auto manufacturer Peugeot for Rs 80 crore.

[9] The cars were retrofitted with a heater and seat belts in order to comply with European safety legislation, but only a tiny number were ever sold and the importer went into liquidation.

[11] It was also reported that the design process for the revived Ambassador's new engine was already in an advanced stage of development, and that the new models would be produced at Hindustan's production line in Chennai.

In 1948, Hindustan Motors shifted its assembly plant from Port Okha in Gujarat to Uttarpara/Hindmotor in West Bengal's Hooghly district and strengthened its manufacturing capacity in the automobile segment.

The 1954 Morris Oxford Series II in India was licence-built at Uttarpara, (Hooghly district), West Bengal, three years after its debut in England and labelled as the 1957 Hindustan Landmaster.

Engaged in the manufacture of the Ambassador, Contessa and utility vehicles like the Trekker, Porter and Pushpak, the plant hardly introduced any innovations or improvements.

Sale of Ambassador taxis has been outlawed since 1 April 2011, a year after BS IV emission standards were rolled out in 11 Indian cities, including Kolkata.

In later years, Hindustan Motors fitted the cars with a cleaner diesel engine in order to comply with new emission rules, allowing it to resume taxi service in Kolkata, one of the cities in which the vehicle had been banned.

The car was rebadged as Ambassador (later called Mark 1) was launched in mid-1957 and the early model Morris Oxford Series II derived Hindustan Landmaster was discontinued.

The interior now had a new dashboard with 3 standard instruments mounted on a black recessed mesh again moving away from the early coated wooden base with aluminium strip design.

In 1977 and 1978, the Ambassador Mark 3 was available with a 1760 cc version of the Morris 1.5-litre inline-four, specifically to have enough power to propel a full air conditioning system.

Now separate amber indicator lamps were incorporated on the semi front lip spoiler below the bumper which was mounted higher up.

The Ambassador has emerged as the car mass-produced for the longest period, with minimal design changes, on the same assembly line (Uttarpara, West Bengal, India) in the whole world until 2014.

The Ambassador still remained the principal family car of choice in the middle segment in spite being a pre-modern design with dated styling.

The company also earmarked for a major upgrade for its mechanical and power plant systems, creating a model later launched as Nova.

The brake pedal was now top-hinged, while the earlier central instrumentation flanked by two glove compartments was replaced by a more conventional setup with a single glovebox.

It also had some cosmetic changes which included a new radiator grille, while retaining the square turn signals of the earlier Mark IV.

Dubbed the Ambassador 1800 ISZ, this model featured a 75 bhp 1817 cc Isuzu inline-four engine and a five-speed manual gearbox with a floor shift.

The Isuzu 1817 cc engine that was used in its luxury model HM Contessa 1.8 GL that produced a power of 88 bhp was slightly detuned for the new Ambassador.

[13] The 1500 diesel engine, the main seller for Hindustan, did not pass Bharat IV emissions and as of 2011 it was no longer allowed to be sold in 13 of India's major cities.

The changes included a switch to body coloured wrap around bumpers, camel coloured interiors, fabric seats, remote shift gear lever, moulded roof and door trims, Salisbury axle, bigger rear wheel drums, improved suspension with anti roll bar and Metlon bushes, central door lock, factory fitted music system and an optional sun roof.

The Avigo model launched in 2004 was the most radical revision of the venerated Ambassador, a part of a brand revitalisation kicked off in the middle of 2003.

[21][22] An article by Hormazd Sorabjee entitled An Epitaph for India's "Appalling" National Car appeared in a July 2014 issue of BBC Magazine.