Maruti races ahead in car sales in Indonesia

"Of late we have focused on non-European markets. It has grown by over 65 percent in Middle-East, Africa, South Asia and South America," a company official said, adding that in August the company clocked a total exports of 5,739 units, as against 2000 units in the corresponding month a year ago.

The official added that the company has also raised its export target to 55,000 units from 50,000 units.

Maruti has set an export target of around 2,20,000 units by 2010 and hopes to capture new markets like the UAE with its best selling small car Alto. The company has a strong presence in Chile and Egypt where it has already sold 7000 units and 4000-5000 units respectively.

Besides Zen Estilo and Alto, Maruti is also exporting another model, Wagon R, to the non-European markets where it has already notched up huge sales.

According to market analysts, Maruti is focusing on export markets to offset its flagging sales back home. Facing competition from other car makers like Honda, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, GM, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors, Maruti has seen its market share plunge from 80 percent a decade back to around 35-40 percent.

Demand for cars in India has slowed down this year on the back of higher interest rates while a stronger rupee has put exports under pressure, analysts said.