Wires

VW eyes budget brand by 2015 to rival Dacia-sources

* Cars to be priced between 5,000-10,000 euros-sources

* VW eyeing budget cars but no decision yet-spokesman

* VW Sept group sales up 6.5 pct, slowest gain in 5 months

BERLIN, Oct 12 (Reuters) - German carmaker Volkswagen

may launch a new low-cost brand by about 2015 totake on rivals including Renault's Dacia and Nissan'sDatsun in lucrative emerging markets, two companysources said on Friday.

Europe's biggest carmaker is eyeing a price range of between5,000 and 10,000 euros ($6,500-$12,900) for the budget carswhich may include a van, estate and a small sedan, the sourcessaid, confirming a report in German business daily Handelsblatt.

The vehicles would be aimed at grabbing share in thefast-growing BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China), butmay also be sold in Europe, the sources said.

"We're regularly looking at new segments and interestingmarkets which also include so-called budget cars," VW spokesmanEric Felber said. "But a decision has not been taken yet."

Wolfsburg-based VW lacks a strong presence in markets suchas India and Southeast Asia, with their mature and growingsmall-car segments. VW's partnership with Suzuki fromDecember 2009, designed to benefit from the Japanesemanufacturer's leading position in India, fell apart last year.

Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn has pledged to tackle suchblank spots as VW strives to surpass Toyota and GeneralMotors to become the world's biggest carmaker by 2018.

Vehicle sales across VW's multi-brand group including luxurydivision Audi and Czech unit Skoda rose 6.5 percent in Septemberto 801,000 autos, the slowest gain in five months, the companysaid on Friday. Nine-month deliveries were up 9.7 percent to6.71 million cars.

($1 = 0.7726 euros)

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Mark Potter)

((Andreas.Cremer@thomsonreuters.com)(+49-30-2888-5084))

Keywords: VOLKSWAGEN BUDGETBRAND/