Though Awasthi did specify the countries to which the cars would be sent, the UK is expected to be one of the destination.

The demand for Matiz in Europe, especially in the UK and Italy, have seen a quantum jump and the parent company, Daewoo Motors, is unable to meet the entire demand from its existing manufacturing facility in Korea. Moreover, the top management is reportedly satisfied that the quality of the cars produced in India equals those produced in Korea and so it has now been decided to feed the European market from India where the surplus capacity exists.

In the UK, Daewoo has sold 9,355 vehicles in the seven-month period between April 1999 to October 1999 as against 8,537 vehicles in the whole of 1998-99. Similarly, in Italy it hassold 32,192 vehicles in seven months compared to 28,792 vehicles in 1998-99. Total exports of Matiz from Korea has jumped to 1,63,714 units in April-October 1999 as against 1,15,198 vehicles in whole of 1998-99.

In fact, Daewoo Motors' share in export of small cars from Korea has increased from 61.30 per cent to 79.80 per cent. DMIL has already exported 380 Matizs to Sri Lanka, Egypt and Mauritius. Awasthi, however, said that exports would not be at the cost of the domestic market. Domestic market for Matiz is showing signs of picking up.

In September, the company sold 3,166 numbers while it was higher at 3,259 during October. The introduction of lower end variants and unlimited two year warranty are said to be the factors which have contributed for strong pick-up in Matiz demand in the recent months. Awasthi expects Matiz sales to stabilise at 5,000 per month and exports would be limited to around 20 to 25 per cent of the production over a period of time.

DMIL is planning to introduce a slew ofproducts and variants next year. A study is on to fill the gap in the top end of the product portfolio while Cielo and Nexia could see value addition. Daewoo would add value to its products every year in line with the expectations of the customers, he added.

The company is also planning to increase its current dealership network of 110 by expanding in sub-urban areas and small towns. By this, it is hoping to increase the size of the market for its products apart from being closer to the customers.

DMIL is hoping to close 1999-2000 with a turnover of Rs 1,200-1,400 crore and an operating profit. It posted Rs 400 crore in 1998-99. DMIL is expected to break-even in 2000-2001.