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Mumbai, Jan. 19: The Tatas might be struggling to secure approvals for their investments in strife-torn Bangladesh,

but they have established a beachhead in Pakistan where no Indian automobile company has gone yet.

Tata Motors is entering Pakistan through its subsidiary Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company (TDCV).

Afzal Motors (Pvt) Ltd of Pakistan has commissioned a truck and bus assembly plant in Karachi to assemble heavy-duty trucks of TDCV.

The two companies have signed a technical assistance agreement to this effect. The plant, which has a capacity of 3,000 vehicles a year, will assemble heavy-duty trucks of TDCV and also buses from the Daewoo Bus Company, South Korea.

Suzuki Motors, which has a controlling interest in Maruti Udyog, has a joint venture in Pakistan, which makes models that closely resemble the Zen and the Alto. But no Indian automobile manufacturer has a direct or indirect presence in that country.

While Tata cars, buses and trucks are being marketed to Europe, Africa, West Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia, the group has been aggressively going global in all its major businesses.

In 2004, Tata Motors took over Daewoo Commercial Vehicles, Korea’s second-largest truckmaker for $102 million. Later, it acquired a 21 per cent stake in Hispano Carrocera SA, the well-known Spanish bus company. Last year, the company acquired Nissan’s South Africa plant for an undisclosed amount. the compant already had a greenfield bus-making unit in Johannesburg.

Recent reports say that Tata Motors is bidding for Daewoo Automobile Romania, which can produce 100,000 cars, 150,000 engines and 200,000 trans-axles.

It is also believed that Tata Motors is planning to use Fiat's production facility in Cordoba, Argentina, to manufacture 1-tonne pick-ups, which will be sold in various Latin American and overseas markets under both Tata and Fiat brands.

In 2007-08, TDCV trucks are expected to garner a market share of about 30 per cent in Pakistan, a Tata Motors statement said. TDCV, which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Motors, has a modern manufacturing facility at Gunsan. It is also the largest exporter of heavy-duty trucks from South Korea, accounting for about two-thirds of the export of such vehicles from the country.

In 2005-06, TDCV posted a turnover of Rs 1,584 crore, a growth of 34.5 per cent, and a profit of Rs 58 crore, a growth of 160 per cent.

Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz, formally inaugurated the plant, in the presence of senior management of TDCV and Afzal Motors.