India’s biggest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, plans to boost sales in the current fiscal year by focusing on the domestic rural market and western Europe, a company executive said.

The company, which clocked growth in unit sales of 3.6% in the year ended March, is targeting 8-10% growth this fiscal year in the domestic market alone.

In 2008-09, rural sales contributed 8% of Maruti’s overall domestic sales, double the 2007-08 component. And the company hopes to replicate this success in the current fiscal as well.

“In the domestic market, we’re ambitiously targeting 8-10% growth. We have grown in that range in April, and I’m sure things will only improve hereafter,” said Rajiv Gandhi, chief general manager of Maruti Suzuki India.

The company is also betting big on the Western European market.

“In exports, we’re planning a (near) 50% increase in growth. A-Star is doing very well in Europe and is best suited for the European market,” Gandhi said.

A-Star, sold under the Alto banner in Europe, has been a winner in overseas markets, making up nearly 90% of the car manufacturer’s 120,000 vehicle export target. Maruti Suzuki plans to make India the A-Star’s production hub for exports.

This story appeared on Mint, as part of the content tie-up between CNBC-TV18 and WSJ Mint. Read the original here.