Maruti sell up to 50% of cars in India

The company, which sells cheap mass-produced cars announced it sold a record 49,140 vehicles last month.

Maruti officials have attributed the dramatic rise to the healthy state of India's economy.

"We have been able to meet the huge demand for small cars which have powerful air conditioning," a Maruti executive said.

Nor were January's strong figures a one-off success.

Roaring home

Maruti's sales also leapt 30% in the 10 months from April 2003 to January 2004, to 377,159, the Agence France Presse news agency reported.

Maruti saw its shares surge by 31% on their first day of trading in July 2003, as investors bet on the growth of car use among the country's burgeoning middle class.

The vehicles sell well in a market where only four out of every 1,000 people own a car.

Maruti has made a profit every year but one since it was founded in 1981.

However, the company is feeling the pressure from new entrants into India's car market from Hyundai, Fiat, Ford and the local Tata group.