"We have sold about 1800 cars till February and we hope to close this fiscal with a sale of 3,000. The target for next financial year is 9,000 cars," HM executive director A Sankara Narayanan said.

HM had earlier forcast a sales of 4,600 cars for the current fiscal and over 12,000 cars in 1999-2000. Narayanan said the projected sale of 9,000 cars in the next fiscal was not a measly figure in view of the economic slowdown that had severely hit the automobile industry, particularly the midsize car category.

"We are selling well over 500 cars per month and the demand for Lancer is picking up. We are targeting a niche segment with the car and we hope to maintain the projections," he said.

Narayanan said though HM was readyto offload 10 per cent equity in favour of Mitsubishi Motors, its technical collaborator for the Lancer project, the Japanese auto major was yet to take a decision on the matter.

As per the agreement with Misubishi, the company is free to pick up 10 per cent stake in HM, India's oldest car maker.

HM, now in the throes of labour unrest at its Uttarpara factory and falling sales of its vehicles, was hopeful of driving out of the red with a sales of 24,000 units annually and a trimmed workforce, Narayanan said.

In a bid to cut costs, HM had earlier proposed a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and a three-day week at its Uttarpara factory, but workers stoutly opposed the move, saying the VRS amount of Rs 1 lakh was too meagre.

"Rs 1 lakh is meagre but we cannot afford to pay more than that. The company's financial position is not sound and we have no plans to hike the amount," Narayanan said.

About 250 workers had opted for the VRS so far, Narayanan said, adding that another 1000 people would beretrenched through the scheme in the next 2-3 months.

Out of the total 11,000 workers, HM planned to retrench about 5,000 workers, he said.

Asked about the upgraded versions of Ambassador and other vehicles, Narayanan said the upgraded Ambassador would be rolled out in April.

"There has been a delay in launching the upgraded Ambassador scheduled for December. We will now introduce the car in April," he said.

The new Ambassador would sport a new body, improved engine and suspensions that would extend the life of the car, based on a 1950 Oxford Morris, to another few years, Narayanan said.

Poor run of the taxi segment in the country, which accounted for over 70 per cent of Ambassador's total sales, dealt a severe blow to the car's sales last year, he said.

Narayanan denied reports that no improvement had been made in the decades-old Ambassador and paid little attention to customer's needs, saying that the car was as contemporary in performance as any other vehicle.

"The engine of the car has beensignificantly improved over the past few years. A new Isuzu engine and gear box has been fitted in the car and there is a lot of life left in the car," he said.