Karl Slym, MD of Tata Motors, told FE said Tata Motors, India?s largest automobile maker by revenues, will harness the group?s global capabilities in engineering and design to set the platform for revival of its passenger vehicle business. ?We have engineering and design centres in the UK, India and Korea. So, in the short term, its about harnessing our capabilities,? he adds.

Currently, the number-three car maker in India in terms of passenger car sales with a market share of around 13%, Tata Motors will also look to launch new products in high-volume segments even as it prunes some of its existing models.

?The pillars of the organisation are there no doubt, but in the medium to long term we will need to bring out more products in the segments that give volumes since we are a large manufacturer,? Karl Slym said. ?But what I find more worrying is that we have products in the market that are not selling,? he added. ?We have to make sure we have a portfolio that sells.?

The manufacturer of the small-car Nano, the world?s cheapest car, is increasingly relying on its luxury car brands, UK-based Jaguar and Land Rover, for growth to offset the weakness of the domestic passenger vehicle business.

In the domestic business, Tata Motors? net profit has fallen for three straight quarters to June and for the fiscal 2011-12, the domestic business accounted for less than 10% of Tata Motors? consolidated net profit of Rs 13,573 crore.

Weak brand pull has also meant Tata Motors? car sales have been falling. In the fiscal 2012-13 first quarter, Tata?s Indian car sales fell 9.9%.

?We suffer from a little bit of perception of poor quality from previous years,? said Karl Slym. ?We will continue to address those concerns… We have the products but maybe we didn?t do things right to get people into them,? he added.

On Tuesday, Tata Motors launched a refreshed version of the Indigo Manza sedan. ?The Manza was already at benchmark levels,? said Karl Slym. ?But we didn?t manage to hit the sales numbers because we didn?t offer the complete luxury package.?

?One of the short-term challenges is to meet the customer expectation of all international features at low prices,? he added.

Karl Slym also said that the Tata Motors? product development pipeline is not empty. ?We have a fair mix of platforms but certainly there is a lot of space to fill as we grow,? he added.

Tata Motors also faces stiff challenge from global truck and bus makers who are entering the Indian market aggressively. But Karl Slym is confident that Tata Motors will be able to stay ahead of the game. ?Competition is an opportunity to improve the business,? he said. ?Last month, we had the largest market share ever in the commercial vehicle segment. So, while the industry volumes may be going down I?m happy that we are maintaining our share.?

On Wednesday, Tata Motors? share closed 0.99% higher at Rs 264.90.