``Matiz has not been exported from India as yet but we are looking at commencing despatches this year itself,'' Anuj Pattnaik, general manager (marketing) of Daewoo Motor India, confirmed here today.

He stated that the delay has been on account of several type approvement tests being conducted on the car, ``to see if it meets all the required norms in the foreign markets''. The first lot would be despatched to parts of Europe and Africa.

DMIL, Pattnaik said, has also set a 30,000 unit export target with the Matiz for the current fiscal. An additional 30,000 units has been projected to be sold in the domestic market. The company had, while launching the small car, stated that itintends to make India an export base for Matiz with a major chunk being earmarked for foreign markets. But, the company now seems to have changed its strategy and is placing equal trust on the domestic market. Pattnaik, however, refused to elaborate on the reasons for the shift in focus.

It may be recalled that faced with sagging sales figures, Daewoo had recently launched three stripped down versions of the Matiz -- Matiz Standard (SS) priced (ex-factory) at Rs 250,778, Matiz Deluxe (SD) at Rs 285,963, Matiz Executive (SE) at Rs 327,630 and Matiz Premium (SP) at Rs 346,148.

Meanwhile, the recent Supreme Court directive on vehicle manufacturers to meet pollution norms has come as a blessing in disguise for Daewoo motors India as Matiz is the only small car which meets the Euro-2 norms. Besides, the rest of the vehicles from the company's stables -- Cielo and Nexia -- also conform to the norms. Effectively, there would be no cap on its sales in the National Capital Region.

Meanwhile, for the rest of theplayers, it is going to be a tough road ahead with sales in the entire NCR region being capped at 1,250 petrol vehicles and 250 diesel vehicles per month. This means that the entire NCR market would be limited to only 1,500 vehicles per month, which has to be divided between around a dozen players.

Under the Euro-1 norms, hydrocarbon (HC) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions should not exceed 0.97 gms per km while carbon monoxide (CO) 2.72 gm/km and particulate matter (PM) should be just 0.14 gm/km. Under the Euro-2 norms, HC and NOX emissions should not exceed 0.5 gm/km and CO should not be more than 2.2 gm/km with no emission of particulate matter.

DMIL managing director SG Awasthi had hailed the Supreme Court order terming it good for the industry. ``Automobile emission is a major social concern that needs to be addressed. The apex court's decision is in the interest of the people at large and lays stress on environment protection. Industry has to respond to such situation,'' he said.

``The technologyused in all Daewoo products in India and elsewhere is futuristic. All our products currently in the market -- Matiz, Cielo and Nexia -- meet the Euro-2 emission norms,'' he added.