CK Birla Group firm Hindustan Motors Ltd on Tuesday said it has agreed to sell its ‘Contessa’ brand to SG Corporate Mobility Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum.

The company has executed a brand transfer agreement with SG Corporate Mobility on June 16 for the transfer of the Contessa brand, including the trademarks having application number and certain related rights of the brand, Hindustan Motors said in a regulatory filing. The transfer of the brand shall be effective upon fulfilment of the terms and conditions as prescribed in the agreement, it added.

Contessa was a premium sedan sold in India by Hindustan Motors during the 1980s to early 2000s. The brand was positioned above the company’s then popular model Ambassador.

While it succeeded in creating a mark for itself in the market, the entry of players such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Ford and others in the Indian market posed a stiff challenge to the brand, which it could not withstand and led to its phasing out.

The competition from global players also hit Hindustan Motors badly, which has shut its manufacturing unit at Uttarpara in Bengal since 2014 and stopped production of the Ambassador car as well.

The Ambassador brand was then acquired by French auto maker PSA Groupe (now part of Stellantis) for Rs 80 crore in February 2017. The car was based on the Vauxhall VX Series of 1976 to 1978. It was one of the few premium cars in the market.

One of its local competitors was Standard 2000.