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| Romanian ARO launches four-wheel-drive vehicle for US market
BUCHAREST, Oct 30 (AFP) - The Romanian automaker ARO, now owned by the US group Cross Lander, presented Thursday its new all-terrain 244X model destined for the US market with a base price of 17,500 dollars (15,000 euros). The vehicle, equipped with a Ford 4,000 cc (244 cubic inch) fuel-injected engine and instrument panel, is to hit the streets in March, with ARO aiming to produce 10,000 units per year if the car is a success. BizVantage – Serious & personalized business, investment and technology intelligence for a serious advantage. US clients have already ordered 2,000, the Romanian group said. The company, which also built custom cars for the former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena, fell on hard times after their communist regime was toppled in 1989. It was sold in October to Miami-based Cross Lander for 27 million dollars. "The purchase of ARO was a calculated risk for us," Romanian media quoted Cross Lander president John Perez as saying at the launch in Campulung, central Romania. "If this new model doesn't sell, Romania's only four-by-four constructor won't survive more than six months." US investors who plan to lay off 1,800 of the company's 5,200 staff by December, nonetheless also hope to build 300 models a month by the end of the year. lc/wai/lt Romania-US-auto-company-product-ARO-CrossLander
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