Santro is becoming a close contender for the top slot in the small car segment, which has been occupied by Maruti''s Zen. In August 1999 Hyundai Motors India sold 7,002 Santros, while Maruti Udyog sold 7,971 Zens. In July 1999, Hyundai had sold 4,949 Santros.

Telco''s is third in this segment with sales of 4,537 Indicas in August 1999.

Santro has been on a steady growth curve -- rising from sales of 3,531 in April to 4,519 in May, 4,634 in June, and 4,949 in July. Hyundai says it has sold 42,283 Santro vehicles since its launch in October 1998.

August saw the sales of all three rival models reach record highs. While Zen''s sales figures went up by 1.14 per cent over its previous best performance recorded in July 1999, Santro sales rose 41.5 per cent growth and Indica sales 11 per cent.

Maruti has reported that sales of its entry-level vehicle, Maruti 800, and the Omni van were also at a record in August 1999 --18,735 and 7,761 respectively. Overall Maruti sold 35,978 units in August against its previous best sales of 35,407 units in July.

Cumulative sales of Indica were 18,407 vehicles by end-August. Telco says it has achieved a market share of 6.5 per cent during April-July 1999.