Italian automaker Fiat is working on a plan to turn around its Indian operations. After deciding to infuse fresh funds into Fiat Auto to wipe out its losses, the company is now looking at exporting large numbers of its world car Palio from its Indian plant.

Senior Fiat India executives said it was lining up exports of around 4,000 units of the Palio and its estate version, Adventure, to Singapore and Indonesia. In the process, it expects export earnings of about Rs 160 crore (Rs 1.60 billion).

A top official at Fiat India said: "We have been exploring markets which don't have a strong Fiat presence yet. We zeroed in on a few south-east Asian markets where we spotted good potential for our cars."

Fiat India will export 1,000 units of the 1.6 litre petrol versions of its hatchback car Palio and station wagon Adventure to Singapore over the next one year. The company will also export over 3,000 units of the petrol Palio to Indonesia over the next three years.

The cars will be exported as completely built units.

The company has been a major exporter of auto components, exporting about 170 different components manufactured at its plant at Ranjangaon near Pune. It exports components to several countries including in Europe.