India’s Mahindra Group expects to grow sales in South Africa’s passenger car market by 50 percent this year and is betting big on other businesses such as information technology, according to S.P. Shukla, chief brand officer, in a report in MoneyControl.

The South African passenger car market grew by 9 percent in 2012, but Mahindra’s sales shot up by 66 per cent, the report said. This year, the company looks to increase sales by 50 percent. “The South African vehicle market is expected to grow by only 7 percent,” Shukla said in the report.

Mahindra sold its first aircraft in South Africa recently.

“The continent presents immense opportunity for business,” Shukla said.

Partnering with existing businesses made Mahindra’s entry into some new African markets quicker and easier, according to the report. Mahindra operates in 30 African countries with automotive in 25 of them.

In South Africa, automotive is the lead business for Mahindra. It has been selling vehicles there since 2004.

When Mahindra enters a country, it researches which of its operating divisions will get most traction in the shortest time and this becomes the lead business in that territory, Shukla said in the MoneyControl report. When the business is well established, the company looks for additional consumer or business-to-business opportunities for other Mahindra companies or divisions.