Mumbai, Feb 6: Maruti Suzuki is quietly working on new entry-level models.

No, it will not cut the price of old warhorse Maruti 800 to take on the Tata Nano.

"That's not possible," said Shinzo Nakanishi, the newly appointed managing director of Maruti.

"The car is already depreciated and the remaining costs--labour, parts and other fixed costs--cannot be reduced now."

Nor will the company offer anything below the 800cc segment, he said.

Instead, a brand-new small car is on the drawing board. Code-named 'YR9', initial drawings, sources said, make it seem like 'tall boy' WagonR. Also coming: A notchback version of the Swift--called Dzire--in April in both diesel and petrol versions.

Only last month, Nakanishi had expressed apprehension that his company could lose its predominant market share by 2010, when the Tata Nano would become well-entrenched in the domestic market.

According to industry projections, passenger car sales in India is expected to touch the 2 million-mark by the turn of the decade, but this projection excludes the Nano.

Nakanishi had said that Maruti's current market share of over 50 per cent will be maintained only if that sales figure is taken into account.

"We are committed to producing and selling a million vehicles by 2010, but no more--we do not have more capacity. So, our present market share can be maintained only if the overall market size remains at 2 million units by 2010," he said