Indian drivers are soon to get a choice in the minicar category.

Weeks after Tata Motors Ltd. launched its Nano model for domestic sale for just one lakh ($2,500 US), South Korea's Hyundai Motor Company today announced plans to produce a minicar of its own in India by 2011.

According to Cho Won-suk, executive vice president of Hyundai's Advanced Technology Center, Hyundai's minicar is expected to be priced somewhere between $3,700 US and $5,200 US. There are no plans to market the car in South Korea, the company said.

The Nano, which debuted at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, seats four, has a manual transmission, and measures approximately 10 feet long, five feet across and five feet high.

Dubbed the "People's Car" due to the low price, the tiny car has already weathered debate over its potential emissions contribution.

The Nano is powered by a conventional two stroke gasoline engine.

Environmentalists worry that more cars on India's roads will only lead to higher pollution levels.

R. K. Pachauri, chair of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted that the roads of India can't support increased vehicle traffic. "With the coming in of Rs one lakh car, I am having nightmares," he said in December.

"Dr. Pachauri need not have nightmares," Tata Motors' chairman Ratan Tata said at the Nano's launch, who says the car meets national environmental standards. "For us it's a milestone and I hope we can make a contribution to the country."

Hyundai is the second-largest car manufacturer in India, behind Maruti Suzuki Ltd. Tata Motors Ltd. is in third place.