"Though we had increased our production capacity from around 2.4 lakh to four lakh recently, we are unable to meet the demand fully. It will take more than a year to complete the upgradation process. Currently, there is a waiting time for Matiz in countries like Italy and Korea," he said.
Min said that DMIL has earmarked only 4,000 Matiz for export, mainly to Italy and Egypt. The company has a facility to produce up to 90,000 cars -- 84,000 Matiz and 6,000 Cielo and Nexia. Apart from the 4,000 Matiz that the company plans to export, the remaining is to be sold domestically.
He said the company is examining the market for the launch of upmarket cars like Nubira and Leganza. "These cars belong to a segment marginally lower than the Marcedes Benz, but much higher than that to which the luxury cars available in India belong," he said.
Speaking on Daewoo Motor's performance in the eastern part of the country, Min said, "We are growing very fast in the east -- our marketshare in the small car segment here has gone up from 18 per cent to 27 per cent in months April-June, and further to 32 per cent in July. Our position in east is better than the rest of the country except Uttar Pradesh where our marketshare is 52 per cent," Min said.
The company's nation-wide marketshare in the small car segment is pegged at 18-20 per cent, with Maruti leading at over 50 per cent.
While launching two new value added models of the Matiz in Calcutta yesterday, Min said, DMIL is working at increasing its nation-wide dealer network from 121 to 150 within a month. The company's service network will also be enlarged, he added.
Commenting on DMIL's performance so far in the year, Min said, "We have sold 17,900 Matiz so far in this year." Though on an annualised basis it is behind the company's target, Min said, DMIL hopes that sales will pick up later in the year.
