Chennai: Tata Engineering, buoyed by a positive response for its passenger vehicles overseas, is planning to increase the share of exports to its total sales to around 15 per cent in three to five years.

The company is expected to export between 3,500 and 4,000 vehicles (around 6 per cent of total sales) during the current financial year ending March 2002.

Rajiv Dube, vice-president (commercial passenger car business unit), Tata Engineering, told mediapersons, "Exports gained momentum after all our passenger vehicles passed Euro- III norms last October. We will also be exploring other markets for exports apart from exporting to European countries".

At present, a majority of the exports is from developed markets in Europe.

Commenting about the performance of passenger car unit, he said that domestic sales was expected to cross 85,000 units this fiscal ending 2002 against 72,000 vehicles during last fiscal.

Sales of Tata Indica was expected to cross the projected sales of 60,000 units by March 2002.

However, the sales from their utility vehicles- Tata Sumo and Tata Safari- is likely to drop by 5,000 units this fiscal ending March 2002.

Refusing to divulge the target set for 2002-03, Dube said, "The total passenger car industry which witnessed a meagre growth of 0.7 per cent during calendar 2001 is expected to grow by 5-8 per cent in 2002. We will certainly grow at a much faster rate".

The company is hoping to achieve faster growth rate in the next fiscal based on two factors- the proposed launch of Tata Sedan and Tata Estate and increased export sales.

The company, in the recently held Auto Expo, had announced they would invest around Rs 370 crore towards developing Tata Sedan and Tata Estate.

Meanwhile, Dube inaugurated the company's 93rd Indica dealership- Manipal Automobiles Private Ltd- in the city.

Tata Engineering has planned to add 12 more dealership in the southern market, which is the second largest region in terms of sales, in the next six months.