Compact is the most comfortable word in Calcutta’s car segment. Of every 100 cars sold in the city, 71 are “cute, compact and comfortable”.

And the competition is hotting up and the choice widening up by the month.

Companies vying for a share in this lucrative A2 segment, that has a price band of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh-plus, are fighting with multi-model strategies. Those who do not have a model now may have one soon.

Calcuttans’ craving for the small car has surpassed the national average of 65 per cent. “Every second customer who walks into our showroom wants a compact car and Calcutta will remain a compact market for some years to come,” said Nitin Himatsingka of Mukesh Hyundai.

There are now six manufacturers offering 12 models with several variants. But the fight seems fiercest between the two largest-selling manufacturers, Maruti and Hyundai, with General Motor’s throwing in its hat in the ring with the Matiz-reborn Spark, which has sold the highest in the east.

While Maruti presently has a four-model strategy of Alto, Zen Estilo, WagonR and Swift, by the end of this year, it will have two more: Splash and A-Star (both concept models shown in the Delhi Auto Fair earlier this year). Hyundai’s new entrant i10, together with Santro and Getz, is a formidable team. And Tata with its Indica Xeta and marketing partner Fiat’s refurbished Palio Stile along with Skoda’s new Fabia and GM’s U-VA round up the compact competition for now.

Though the sedan market is slowly growing, the segment base remains small, said a Maruti spokesman from Delhi. This is backed by customer preferences, too.

Deb Ganguly, who drives a Hyundai Accent, also wants a compact car in his garage. “In Calcutta, you cannot do without a small car. The sedan gives me great pleasure but for frugality and convenience, nothing beats a compact car, particularly in the clutch-brake driving scenario of Calcutta.”

This explains the success of any car launched in this segment. Take the latest entrant i10. In Calcutta, it has sold 1,600 units, surpassing Santro (which sold 1,400 units sold in the past five months) and pushing Hyundai’s market share up by 6 per cent in Calcutta and the east, said a company spokesman.

However, Maruti still manages to retain its highest market share of 59 per cent in the segment in the city. Regional sales manager Manish Rathore said, “We sold about 140 units of Estilo and 190 units of Wagon R in Calcutta in the last month.”

The ratio of units sold of i10 + Santro to WagonR + Zen Estilo would stand at 1.1: 1.2, said Rathore, which clearly reflects a neck-and-neck fight.