"Exports of the Siena will commence from the next calendar year and will be targeted towards the UK, Australia and Malaysia. It is, however, premature to talk of numbers at this stage," FIAL marketing director Enrico Ferrero told The Financial Express. FIAL holds 76 per cent stake in Fiat IndAuto which makes the Uno and Siena models in India.

"The Siena has received a very positive market response and we have set a realistic target of selling around 12,000 cars next year," Ferrero said.Fiat IndAuto sold 720 Sienas in August, while sales of its popular Uno stood at around 1,400 units.

The launch of its world car Palio, Ferrero said,is expected in the second quarter of 2000 while its other model, the Station Wagon, is also on the cards. "Our initial target would be to sell around 3,000-4,000 units of the Station Wagon annually," Ferrero said.

The company, meanwhile, is gearing up to strengthen its presence in the domestic car market. "We plan to almost double our marketshare in the passenger car segment from 3.5 per cent to six per cent by next year," Ferrero said on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations.

Earlier speaking at the conference, Ferreo said India was potentially a very important market along with developing economies like China, Brazil and Mexico. "What is reassuring is the country's impregnability towards external turmoils. Besides, the vast consumer base throws up a lot of opportunities for automobile makers," Ferrero said.

The Indian car market, he added, would grow in the future not only because of demand from a rising middle class population but also becauseincreasing competition was making cars more affordable.

"With prices falling, the dimension of the automobile market will expand in the country as used cars will become more affordable which, in effect, will widen the size of the new car market," Ferrero said. The country, he added has enormous potential and will become a centre of production for export of automobiles in the coming years.

The growth in the Indian market, Ferrero said, is a bonanza compared to that in Europe and the US although not all car makers will be able to withstand the competition that will further intensify in the coming months.

"The evolution from a monopoly situation to a market-driven scenario will take some time, although the changes can be achieved much faster than in the European countries. With ready availability of technology and experiences of the European auto industry, Indian auto-makers will soon be able to reach a high level of perfection in customer servicing," Ferrero observed.