Tata Motors on Thursday reported a 42.9 per cent rise in its sales during the fiscal 2003-04 at 3,14,256 vehicles, including exports, as against 2,19,865 units sold in the previous year.

This is the highest ever sales achieved by the company in a financial year, a company release said.

Commercial vehicles sales were up 43.7 per cent to 1,52,282 vehicles in the last fiscal as compared to 1,05,960 vehicles sold in 2002-03 while light commercial vehicles grew 50.8 per cent to 49,026 vehicles, it said.

Exports grew 126.2 per cent to 21,951 vehicles as against 9,704 vehicles in the last year.

The sale of passenger vehicles grew 34.4 per cent to 1,40,023 units during 2003-04 while cumulative sales of Indica and Indigo rose 36.3 per cent to touch 1,08,169 vehicles in the last fiscal.

The cumulative sales of Indica crossed the 3,17,000 vehicles mark since the launch.

The company did not give standalone figures for its flagship vehicles Indica and Indigo for fiscal 2003-04 and March 2004.

In the utility vehicles segment, the company achieved the best performance in the last six years with sales of 31,854 vehicles. Sales of Sumos and Safaris grew at the rate of 28.2 per cent.

The March sales for commercial vehicles rose by about 51.2 per cent at 17,803 vehicles as compared to the previous fiscal figures while the medium and heavy commercial vehicles and LCVs recorded sales of 12,279 and 5,524 units respectively during the month.

In the passenger vehicles segment, Indica and Indigo registered a sale of 11,110 vehicles in March, it said adding in the utility vehicles segment sales during the month stood at 3,955 vehicles.