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25. 06. 12. - 15:00

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25. 06. 12. - 15:00

Ford officially launched B-Max in Romania, Basescu buys first car

Michael Leidig

The giant American car maker launched today B-Max, the first model manufactured in Romania, at Craiova (south), in the presence of the country’s president, Traian Basescu, local press informs.

Basescu bought the first B-Max model, opting for a red vehicle and he even showed the journalists the purchase papers. "I am convinced that it will be a successful endeavor and (…) I want to be the first Romanian to buy a car manufactured by Ford here", he said.

In his usual style, Basescu blundered once more, saying, according to press reports that the new Ford model is ‘technically two-to-three times ahead of anything that may be produced in Romania’.

His statement may be regarded as an official support to the American car maker in the detriment of its competitor, Renault, who manufactures the Dacia models in Ploiesti (centre).

Basescu owns to Dacia, a Logan he bought himself and a Duster, also red, offered by his wife.

Basescu praised Dacia for saving the Romanian economy during the 2008-2011 economic recession, when the sales of the French manufacturer in Western Europe were falling.

Ford B-Max is exclusively produced at Craiova plant and comes in three models: Ambiente, Trend, Titanium and has two fuel options, two on diesel and one on petrol.

The starting price is 13,400 Euros for Ambiente model, 14,50 for Trend and 16,500 Euros for Titanium.

Ford intends to produce this year some 60,000 B-Max and some 105,000 next year. Most of cars are set to be exported.

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