Auto parts suppliers to Hyundai Motor Co.'s Indian unit have been informed that the company will likely introduce a 0.8-liter small car in October as the country's second-largest car maker by sales steps up competition with key rivals Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and Tata Motors Ltd. Executives at two parts suppliers told Dow Jones Newswires that Hyundai Motor India Ltd. plans to start producing the gasoline-engine car, codenamed HA800, in early September. The vehicle could have a starting price of 250,000 rupees ($5,470), the executives said recently. "Hyundai has asked us to start supplying parts for the model by the last week of August," one of the executives said. He didn't elaborate on the planned volumes for the car that will cost less than the Santro hatchback, the cheapest car in Hyundai Motor India's stable. The Santro, which has a 1.1-liter gasoline engine, costs 280,897 rupees for the base model at showrooms in New Delhi. Arvind Saxena, director for sales and marketing at Hyundai Motor India, declined to comment. The introduction of the small car will likely help Hyundai intensify competition with Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors, which already make cars with less than 1.0-liter gasoline engines. Maruti sells the Alto small car with 0.8-liter and 1.0-liter gasoline engines. It costs 232,247 rupees-284,293 rupees at showrooms in New Delhi and is India's largest-selling car model at about 25,000 units a month. Hyundai's new car will also compete with the top-end versions of the Nano minicar, the world's cheapest car, which costs 140,880 rupees-196,556 rupees in New Delhi. Tata Motors sells about 6,300 units of the 0.6-liter Nano minicar each month. Introducing a lower-priced car will allow Hyundai to tap first-time car buyers in India where vehicle penetration is amongst the lowest. Only 14 in every 1,000 Indians own a vehicle--nearly half the level in Africa, according to a report by Scotiabank. Hyundai said previously it plans to introduce the car by early 2012. "Hyundai has advanced the launch to benefit from the festival season," the second executive said. The two-month festival season begins end-September. Car sales in India generally rise during this period, when it is considered auspicious to buy new products such as cars. Hyundai produces the i10 and i20 small cars, as well as the Verna, Accent and Sonata Transform sedans at its two factories in the port city of Chennai. It imports and markets the Santa Fe sport-utility vehicle.