Calcutta, Nov. 27: Tata Motors today forayed into the Bangladesh passenger car market, with an eye to grab a 51 per cent share within five to seven years.

The company today launched the Indigo eCS, Indigo Manza and hatchback Indica Vista in the Bangla market. The cars will be made available through its distributor Nitol Motors, part of the Taka 500 crore business conglomerate Nitol Niloy group.

At present, Nitol Motors markets commercial vehicles of Tata Motors, including buses, trucks, passenger variants of pick-up trucks, maxi and construction equipment. The company started assembling Tata Motors vehicles from 1991.

Tata Motors is looking to make significant inroads into the Bangla passenger car market that is dominated by reconditioned cars.

“The passenger car market in Bangladesh is about 30,000 to 35,000 units per year. Almost 80 per cent of the market is dominated by reconditioned cars with the new car market making up the rest. By introducing new cars, we can look at a 51 per cent market share within the next five to seven years,” Abdul Matlub Ahmad, chairman of the Nitol Niloy group, told The Telegraph from Dhaka.

He said Toyota, Nissan and Maruti were some of the other firms in Bangladesh.

The cars will be imported from India and sold from a showroom in Dhaka. Ahmad indicated that Chittagong, Sylhet and Bogra could be added to the network by 2013.

Tata Motors, through subsidiaries and associate companies, has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand, Spain and South Africa.

It has a significant presence in commercial vehicles in Bangladesh with a market share of about 70 per cent. The company had started selling its buses there in 1972.

Ahmad said his company had imported a few Tata Nanos and was evaluating the potential of the car. “At present, a market study for the Tata Nano is being undertaken. We can take a call on (selling) it after the report is prepared,” he said, adding that the company is exploring the possibility of manufacturing the Tata Ace.

On their entry into Bangladesh, Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym said, “Our 40-year association with Bangladesh has given us an insight into the aspiration of the country’s motorists. They will be central to our business. We will delight them with the performance of our cars and the comfort and excellence of our service.”