Tata Motors said it will ramp-up capacity at its Sanand (Gujarat) facility, which manufactures Nano, to 250,000 units annually this fiscal.

"We will ramp-up production at our Sanand plant that manufactures the Nano to 20,000 units per month to reach the target of 250,000 units annually by this fiscal. We are gradually ramping-up production to meet customer-demand," Tata Motors' Chief Financial Officer C Ramakrishnan told reporters.

At present the Sanand facility has a capacity to manufacture 250,000 units annually, which can be subsequently increased to 500,000 units per annum. The auto-major sold 14,779 Nanos in the first quarter of this fiscal. It raised its prices last month by 4 per cent.

The company said it has already hired 270 engineers and will hire 1,000 more. "We plan to hire 1,000 engineers in the future to meet our demand," he said. The company plans to launch its new Range Rover -- Evoque in 2011. "We will launch more models in the near future -- the Evoque will be launched in 2011," he said.

Tata Motors posted a consolidated net profit of Rs. 19,887.3 million (US$ 428 million) for the quarter ended June 30 on the back of strong sales of its Jaguar Land Rover. During the same period last fiscal the company had registered a loss of Rs. 3,287.8 million.

Its consolidated net sales stood at Rs. 268,760.8 million during the quarter as against Rs. 163,655.7 million in the year-ago period. During the quarter, the Jaguar Land Rover business continued to show strong profitability with an increase in volumes coupled with significantly favourable currency movement, reporting a profit before tax of 233.82 million pounds (Rs. 15,902.5 million).

The company said it would increase prices of its vehicles due to a rise in commodity prices. "Commodity prices have increased and it has impacted us. We are studying the situation and would take a call (to hike prices) at the right time," Tata Motors' Vice-Chairman Ravi Kant said.

"Commodity prices are a major concern. Steel and rubber prices have gone up," he said.