The Rapid model, that was launched in Romania a few days ago, has already recorded 70 orders in the pre-sale period, with 250 such vehicles being earmarked for the Romanian market in 2012, Rusu announced.
The Rapid is a model meant to fill the gap left by Skoda Octavia Tour in the A automobile class (Compact Class), as the new generation Octavia will have larger dimensions and better equipment and will be closer to the average automobile class than to the compact bracket, where it was a leader of the Romanian sales with 2,611 vehicles sold in the ten months of 2012 and a market share of 19.8 percent.
Skoda plans to sell as many as 39,734 Rapid cars in Romania over 2012-2020, while sales in the Czech market are put at 54,000 units.
The Rapid is sized to sit between Fabia and Octavia models and it introduces a new Skoda design line; it stands out by the ample passenger and luggage space, safety, eco-friendly qualities and its simple and practical solutions, such as the ice scraper put in the tank cap, two-side mats and a waste basket.
The model mainly targets family clients, aged around 40.
The Rapid has the largest trunk volume of its class at 550 litres or 1,490 litres with the seats reclining and even if its design is not as aggressive as the Korean competitors', it stands out by the specially polished headlights and the prismatic forms in some parts of the bodywork reminiscent of the Czechs' glass-making tradition.
