5,000-euro Dacia more expensive at first

X90, the project bound to turn Romanian carmaker Dacia around in 2005, will be released in three “flavours.” The most widely mentioned version by the media, the basic model set to cost 5,000 euros will not be available from the beginning, though. “Market surveys and Solenza sales have showed us the Romanian consumers are rather interested in the models with more options. That is why we decided to launch two such models at first, which will most likely cost 5,800 euros and 7,500 euros,” Francois Fourmont, Automobile Dacia general manager said. According to Fourmont, nearly 60% of the sales of Solenza during the holiday months are made up of those models equipped with air conditioning – Scala and Clima. “We estimate we’ll be selling the new model as of next September, but we reserve the right to delay this launch by two or three months in case we have trouble making sure the product’s quality matches the European standards,” Fourmont added. Dacia’s official also specified that only one model running on gas would be available at first, with a diesel engine version planned for a year later. ZF