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India's Hindustan Motors sees 20 pct rise in car sales

CALCUTTA, India, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Hindustan Motors Ltd, one of India's oldest auto companies, is aiming at a 20 percent rise in passenger car sales in 2002/03 (April-March) year-on-year, its chairman, C.K. Birla, said on Wednesday.

Hindustan Motors makes the 1950s vintage but still popular Ambassador car and the Lancer sedan in collaboration with Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp , besides the Trekker and RTV utility vehicles.

The firm sold 19,634 passenger cars in 2001/02 -- of which 13,194 were Ambassadors and 6,440 Lancers.

"The first four months (April-July 2002) have been encouraging with Ambassador sales higher than the same period last year," Birla told reporters in Calcutta after the company's annual meeting of shareholders. He did not give details.

"We are expecting a 20 percent rise in passenger car sales in 2002/03 over the previous financial year," he said.

Birla said the company would launch a new version of the Ambassador by the end of 2002, but did not elaborate.

Most Ambassador cars are sold to the federal and state governments in India. It is also popular with car hire companies but has been losing out in recent years to firms such as Maruti Udyog Ltd, India's largest carmaker and a unit of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp .

Last month, General Motors Corp, the world's largest automaker, said it will outsource engines and transmissions from Hindustan Motors for a new vehicle it will launch in India.

In January, Hindustan Motors had announced a similar deal to make engines for Ford's Ikon sedan in India.

Hindustan Motors posted a net loss of 8.6 million rupees on net sales of 2.34 billion rupees ($48.3 million) in April-June 2002. ($1 = 48.527 rupees)