Standard (Indian automobile)

Standard is an Indian brand of automobile which was produced by Standard Motor Products in Madras from 1949 to 1988. Indian Standards were variations of vehicles made in the U.K. by Standard-Triumph. Standard Motor Products of India Ltd. (STAMPRO) was incorporated in 1948, and their first product was the Vanguard, which began to be assembled in 1949. The company was dissolved in 2006 and the old plant was torn down.

From 1955, versions of the Standard Eight and Ten were produced, with ever increasing local content. The Pennant joined in 1959, although it too was curiously branded "Standard 10" and devoid of bootlid trimwork. The Tens and later Heralds and Gazels all used versions of the 948 cc Standard-Triumph four-cylinder engine. In 1961 production began of the Triumph Herald, known as the Standard Herald in India.

Standard also built a range of light commercial vehicles based on the Standard Atlas/20 (later Leyland 20), called the Standard Twenty. They were sold with the advertising slogan "Standard Twenty can do plenty". For these, production of diesel engines began in India, later exported back to the UK for use in the refurbished Carbodies FX4Q London cabs. In spite of a production lineup incorporating passenger cars as well as light commercials, production was always low. In the fiscal year 1974/75, for instance, only 1,393 units were built. The Twenty was later updated with locally developed angular bodywork.

Badged in the Indian market as the Standard Herald, the Herald was originally heavily dependent on British parts, but as these were gradually replaced by indigenous items specifications and trim as local content increased. By 1965 engines, gearboxes, and axles were all made in India. In 1966 the Standard Herald Mark II was introduced, which featured the bonnet and front end of the Vitesse, but strangely with the outer pair of headlights blocked off and the parking lights cum side-indicators incorporated there instead. In anticipation of the Mark III, very late Mk IIs featured modified rear bodywork (different roofline and a bootlid without a recess).