Tata Motors Ltd (TML) will consider setting up manufacturing facilities in various overseas countries as it looks to expand its global presence.
In its annual report for 2010-11, the company said it will also introduce more fuel-efficient products and market those in both domestic and export destinations.
“The company will aggressively pursue opportunities in the international markets as part of its internationalisation, drive including evaluation of possible overseas manufacturing,” Tata Motors said in the report.
The homegrown auto major, however, did not provide any details regarding any possible new overseas location.
When contacted, a company spokesperson said: “The company is evaluating options across the world. At first, the evaluation is about which product is relevant for which market. After that it will be decided whether the product will be exported or manufactured locally.”
Earlier this month, TML had said it would start operations of an assembly plant for commercial vehicles in South Africa.
In April, Tata Industries Managing Director, Mr Kishor A. Chaukar, had said Tata Motors was “at a very high stage” in finalising a production site for its small car Nano at an overseas location, which could be either in Latin America, Southeast Asia or Africa.
He had said that the automobile major was exploring various options at different places and looking at uninterrupted supply chain for the components.
Tata Motors has truck assembly units in Thailand and Bangladesh. It also produces pick-up Xenon in Thailand.
Earlier, Tata Group’s subsidiary Tata Africa had acquired a truck facility in South Africa from Japanese auto giant Nissan. Besides, it also had one bus body building unit there.
Tata Motors is at present in the process of setting up subsidiaries in key overseas markets, including Latin America.
The annual report also said the firm will introduce more products in both domestic and overseas markets.
“The company will continue to focus on retaining its advantage of market reach and penetration. The company will continue to introduce new products, variants and fuel efficient products. These will offer superior value to the customers and improve the company’s market position,” it said.
On its small car Nano, Tata Motors said it will continue its “actions on increasing the reach and penetration” through expansion of channels and campaigns.
The report further said the British subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover will continue to focus on profitable volume growth and increasing its presence in the growth markets such as China, Russia, India and Brazil, along with launching new products and variants.