''We are unable to meet the growing demand of Matiz despite producing it in four countries, namely, Korea, India, Romania and Poland. We are stepping up production to meet the requirment,'' Daewoo Public Motors director (planning & coordination) Sang Do Lee said. Daewoo Public Motors is the plant which produces small cars in Korea.

Interacting with visiting Indian journalists during the Changwan plant visit here, Lee said, the Korean plant had an installed capacity of producing 240,000 small cars per annum but the company was producing 400,000 small cars and another 100,000 completely knocked-down units to meet the demand.

Lee did not give Matiz's global demand, but said: ''The demand for Matiz is very huge and all the plants are unable to supply the car in requisitenumbers.''

The Daewoo plants located in Uzbekistan and Iran are also likely to start Matiz production by September, Lee said.

Daewoo Motors India sources said in Delhi that the company would double Matiz production to 5,000 units per month from September.

Daewoo exports the Matiz to about 65 countries and a major chunk goes to West European nations, Lee said.

At the moment, Matiz exports from Korea are about 20,000 units per annum and the rest of the units is being sold in the Korean market, where the company claims to have a market share of 66.5 per cent in the small-car segment.

Another Korean auto major Hyundai's Atoz small car model, which is being marketed in India as ''Santro'', enjoys a market share of 20.3 per cent in the Korean market.

Daewoo Motors India has also identified several export destinations for its small car Matiz and its first consignment of 300 vehicles would be shipped to Egypt soon, the sources said.

The company has received orders to export 10,000 cars, mainly to Egyptand the Middle-East.

The company has not fixed any export target for the current fiscal as actual the export level would depend on the domestic demand and level of production.

According to the Daewoo Motors India sources, the company's first priority would be to fulfil the demand in the Indian market, for which the company was stepping up output by producing in two shifts by September.

Daewoo Motor Company has also stepped up Matiz output in Korea by extending the working hours from 5,000 hours per annum to 8,000 hours annually, Lee said.

The Changwan plant also supplies Matiz engines and transmission equipment to India and Romania, as these vital equipment are not being produced in these countries.

In India, the Matiz is about 70 per cent localised. Only engines, transmission and some important electronic equipment are being sourced from Korea.

Daewoo supplies engines to Poland also, but it could start production of the powerful 52 horse power and 800cc capacity engine at its plant in Poland inthe days to come, Lee said.

Daewoo Motor has over 20 car models ranging from the small cars Matiz and Tico to and luxury cars Chairman, Nubira, and Leganza.

In india, the company is present with its small car Matiz and two mid-sized cars Cielo and Nexia.

It also plans to introduce a luxury car model based on the Nubira or Leganza platform in the days to come, but has not finalised the models yet.

Daewoo Motors India targets a sales turnover of $392 million and exports worth $60 million during the current fiscal.