Fortwo/Forfour [Official] Smart ForTwo & ForFour
- Thread starter Rainer271
- Start date
The Smart Fortwo (stylized as "smart fortwo") is a two-seater city car manufactured and marketed by the Smart division of the Mercedes-Benz Group for model years 1998–2024, across three generations - each using a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and a one-box design. The Smart Forfour (stylized as "smart forfour") is a city car (A-segment) marketed by Smart over two generations. The first generation was marketed in Europe from 2004 to 2006 with a front-engine configuration, sharing its platform with the Mitsubishi Colt.
Wolfgang
Kraftwagen König
- Messages
- 10,252
Two million already? 
anniversary for smart: Big celebrations for a small car: smart sales passes the two million mark
"The fact that worldwide smart sales have passed the two million mark shows the extent to which delighted customers around the world prefer our uniquely compact and unbelievably agile cars to any other car for city driving. Whether it's fitted with a combustion engine or an electric motor, whether it's a two-seater, a four-seater or a stunning cabrio – smart brings drivers plenty of joy and saves them time. For our customers smart is much more than 'just' a car," says Dr. Annette Winkler, head of smart.
A pioneering presence in the car industry from the outset
Since its market launch in 1998, the urban microcar has enjoyed tremendous success as both a private vehicle and as a fleet vehicle and, since 2008, as a tailor-made vehicle for the car sharing scheme car2go. When it comes to mobility services and options for individualisation, smart has always played a pioneering role in the car industry, constantly redefining urban mobility. At the end of 2015 smart became the world's first car manufacturer to combine an online store for new cars with a virtual showroom: customers in Italy are able to explore the smart options around the clock at www.smartforstore.it and purchase their chosen vehicle online. The "smart ready to drop" service takes urban mobility a step further: the smart collaboration with DHL enables parcels to be delivered to the boot of your car. Beta-testing of the service began in Stuttgart on 26th of September. Tests in Cologne, Bonn and Berlin are to follow within the next few months. The service will eventually be offered in seven German cities.
smart now has a presence in 46 markets. In August 2016 the brand's sales increased by 20.8% and customers took delivery of over 7,631 vehicles. smart proved particularly popular in China last month, with sales of smart models almost treble those in same month last year. China is the third biggest sales market for smart after Germany and Italy.
anniversary for smart: Big celebrations for a small car: smart sales passes the two million mark
"The fact that worldwide smart sales have passed the two million mark shows the extent to which delighted customers around the world prefer our uniquely compact and unbelievably agile cars to any other car for city driving. Whether it's fitted with a combustion engine or an electric motor, whether it's a two-seater, a four-seater or a stunning cabrio – smart brings drivers plenty of joy and saves them time. For our customers smart is much more than 'just' a car," says Dr. Annette Winkler, head of smart.
A pioneering presence in the car industry from the outset
Since its market launch in 1998, the urban microcar has enjoyed tremendous success as both a private vehicle and as a fleet vehicle and, since 2008, as a tailor-made vehicle for the car sharing scheme car2go. When it comes to mobility services and options for individualisation, smart has always played a pioneering role in the car industry, constantly redefining urban mobility. At the end of 2015 smart became the world's first car manufacturer to combine an online store for new cars with a virtual showroom: customers in Italy are able to explore the smart options around the clock at www.smartforstore.it and purchase their chosen vehicle online. The "smart ready to drop" service takes urban mobility a step further: the smart collaboration with DHL enables parcels to be delivered to the boot of your car. Beta-testing of the service began in Stuttgart on 26th of September. Tests in Cologne, Bonn and Berlin are to follow within the next few months. The service will eventually be offered in seven German cities.
smart now has a presence in 46 markets. In August 2016 the brand's sales increased by 20.8% and customers took delivery of over 7,631 vehicles. smart proved particularly popular in China last month, with sales of smart models almost treble those in same month last year. China is the third biggest sales market for smart after Germany and Italy.
Wolfgang
Kraftwagen König
- Messages
- 10,252
Yes, remember some such concerns. However smart may not be interested to expand. For example at the recent smart times in Hamburg, CEO Dr. Annette Winkler stated no roadster was planned, and neither a SUV, but they would rather stick with their present lineup, incl the 3 electric vehicles just announced. 
smart-Chefin Dr. Annette Winkler im Gespräch - Mercedes-Benz Passion Blog / Mercedes Benz, smart, Maybach, AMG
smart-Chefin Dr. Annette Winkler im Gespräch - Mercedes-Benz Passion Blog / Mercedes Benz, smart, Maybach, AMG
Wolfgang
Kraftwagen König
- Messages
- 10,252
Smart done with gasoline cars in U.S. & Norway
If you want a gasoline-powered Smart Fortwo, better go shopping soon.
According to a new report from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Smart North America (US and Canada) is done selling gas vehicles! The first automaker (and we hope not the last) to take that stance! The magazine cites a letter from Mercedes-Benz HQ to local dealers by U.S. boss Dietmar Exler saying that sales of vehicles with combustion engines will be discontinued in September. The September cut-off basically means that the 2017 lineup will include petrol and gas vehicles, but the 2018s will only be all-electric.
In North America, Smart offers just the Fortwo Electric Drive, and the Fortwo Cabrio Electric Drive, the Forfour is not offered in the region. Last year, Smart sold 6,211 cars, of which just 657 where all-electric – albeit sales were in a limited/inventory constrained fashion as just the last generation 2016s were being sold off ahead of a brand refresh that arrives this month for the electric versions. Smart ED sales have been as high as 2,594 units (2014).
Besides some exterior and interior design tweaks, that refresh also bumps all-electric range in the US from 68 miles to 2017.
http://www.motor1.com/news/135982/smart-car-electric-only-us/
- Messages
- 40,779
- Name
- Marcus
Daimler just can't get Smart right. Smart could have been like Mini, but they just can't do it. Now they're pushing electric. Brilliant idea, they could become the city car champion among electric vehicles, but watch Daimler botch it.
M
M
- Messages
- 11,181
Yup, their incompetence/indifference when it comes to smart is perplexing.
Wolfgang
Kraftwagen König
- Messages
- 10,252
Could Smart get any smaller?
As brand goes all-electric, two-thirds of U.S. dealers drop out
Amy Wilson -- Automotive News
Fifty-eight U.S. Smart stores plan to shift to service-only for the ForTwo.
More than two-thirds of U.S. Smart retail outlets have opted to stop selling Daimler AG's microcar brand after it switches this year to offering only electric vehicles here. The shakeout will leave Smart with just 27 dealerships, fewer than even Lamborghini and Lotus.
Mercedes-Benz USA, which distributes Smart in the U.S., asked dealers to decide by the end of June whether to continue selling the ForTwo two-seater, the brand's sole nameplate. Of Smart's 85 outlets, 27 said they would remain, while 58 said they would move to a service-only operation, said company spokeswoman Donna Boland. Those numbers are preliminary, she said.
The 27 remaining Smart dealerships are largely concentrated in states with zero-emission vehicle mandates and that give Smart "the highest market penetration potential," Boland said. Daimler executives had said they expected the remaining dealerships to be in cities such as San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Portland, Ore.
Penske Automotive Group, which launched Smart in the U.S. in 2008 as an independent distributor, is dropping sales at five of its six U.S. outlets, according to Tony Pordon, Penske's executive vice president of investor relations and corporate development. Penske will continue selling Smart in San Diego, which has higher EV sales potential.
The dealerships that end Smart sales will continue to provide service for Smart owners. They will transition to service only as they sell out of inventory, with the "vast majority" expected to have transitioned by year end, Boland said.
Smart announced in February it would drop gasoline-powered models in the U.S. and Canada and move exclusively to EVs this summer after exhausting inventory of the old models.
The decision reflected falling sales for the ForTwo as low gasoline prices fueled demand for SUVs and crossovers. In 2016, Smart sold 6,211 ForTwos in the U.S., down 17 percent from a year earlier, for an average of 73 per dealer. Sales this year through July are down 30 percent from a year earlier, to 2,165 cars.
The redesigned ForTwo Electric Drive coupe and convertible are slated to go on sale before the end of summer, still as 2017 models.
Smart introduced an electric For-Two in the U.S. in 2013. The brand's peak EV year was 2014, when it sold about 2,600 of the cars.
Mercedes-Benz USA chief Dietmar Exler has predicted that some of the demand for Smart gasoline models will move to EVs and eventually push Smart's overall sales after the switch "quite a bit" higher than in 2014.
Meanwhile, new gasoline-powered 2016 and 2017 ForTwos remain in stock at dealerships, according to Smart USA's website.
The company is offering lease deals as low as $89 a month for 2016 models and $109 a month for 2017 models. Production of gasoline- powered vehicles for North America was to end in April.
Ken Schnitzer, chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Board and owner of Smart outlets in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, said both of his locations will end sales.
"I felt with Mercedes' introduction of five new electric vehicles in the next several years, that these products would be a better fit for Dallas than the electric microcar," Schnitzer wrote in an email.
Among the holdouts is Germain Motor Group in Columbus, Ohio. Executives there went back and forth over whether to continue selling Smart and ultimately decided there was enough potential for EV sales in their market.
"Columbus has established itself as a leader in electrification with its 'Smart Columbus' initiative," Germain COO John Malishenko wrote in an email. "It's well funded and focused on making Columbus a leader in alternative transportation solutions, so for that reason, we've decided to stay put."
Losing 58 of its retail outlets would give Smart the smallest U.S. dealership network among brands tracked by the Automotive News Data Center. In 2016, Lamborghini sold 1,041 cars at 31 dealerships, Rolls-Royce sold 1,289 cars at 35 dealerships, Ferrari sold 2,300 cars at 37 dealerships and Lotus sold 12 cars at 41 dealerships.
As brand goes all-electric, two-thirds of U.S. dealers drop out
Amy Wilson -- Automotive News
More than two-thirds of U.S. Smart retail outlets have opted to stop selling Daimler AG's microcar brand after it switches this year to offering only electric vehicles here. The shakeout will leave Smart with just 27 dealerships, fewer than even Lamborghini and Lotus.
Mercedes-Benz USA, which distributes Smart in the U.S., asked dealers to decide by the end of June whether to continue selling the ForTwo two-seater, the brand's sole nameplate. Of Smart's 85 outlets, 27 said they would remain, while 58 said they would move to a service-only operation, said company spokeswoman Donna Boland. Those numbers are preliminary, she said.
The 27 remaining Smart dealerships are largely concentrated in states with zero-emission vehicle mandates and that give Smart "the highest market penetration potential," Boland said. Daimler executives had said they expected the remaining dealerships to be in cities such as San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Portland, Ore.
Penske Automotive Group, which launched Smart in the U.S. in 2008 as an independent distributor, is dropping sales at five of its six U.S. outlets, according to Tony Pordon, Penske's executive vice president of investor relations and corporate development. Penske will continue selling Smart in San Diego, which has higher EV sales potential.
The dealerships that end Smart sales will continue to provide service for Smart owners. They will transition to service only as they sell out of inventory, with the "vast majority" expected to have transitioned by year end, Boland said.
Smart announced in February it would drop gasoline-powered models in the U.S. and Canada and move exclusively to EVs this summer after exhausting inventory of the old models.
The decision reflected falling sales for the ForTwo as low gasoline prices fueled demand for SUVs and crossovers. In 2016, Smart sold 6,211 ForTwos in the U.S., down 17 percent from a year earlier, for an average of 73 per dealer. Sales this year through July are down 30 percent from a year earlier, to 2,165 cars.
The redesigned ForTwo Electric Drive coupe and convertible are slated to go on sale before the end of summer, still as 2017 models.
Smart introduced an electric For-Two in the U.S. in 2013. The brand's peak EV year was 2014, when it sold about 2,600 of the cars.
Mercedes-Benz USA chief Dietmar Exler has predicted that some of the demand for Smart gasoline models will move to EVs and eventually push Smart's overall sales after the switch "quite a bit" higher than in 2014.
Meanwhile, new gasoline-powered 2016 and 2017 ForTwos remain in stock at dealerships, according to Smart USA's website.
The company is offering lease deals as low as $89 a month for 2016 models and $109 a month for 2017 models. Production of gasoline- powered vehicles for North America was to end in April.
Ken Schnitzer, chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Board and owner of Smart outlets in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, said both of his locations will end sales.
"I felt with Mercedes' introduction of five new electric vehicles in the next several years, that these products would be a better fit for Dallas than the electric microcar," Schnitzer wrote in an email.
Among the holdouts is Germain Motor Group in Columbus, Ohio. Executives there went back and forth over whether to continue selling Smart and ultimately decided there was enough potential for EV sales in their market.
"Columbus has established itself as a leader in electrification with its 'Smart Columbus' initiative," Germain COO John Malishenko wrote in an email. "It's well funded and focused on making Columbus a leader in alternative transportation solutions, so for that reason, we've decided to stay put."
Losing 58 of its retail outlets would give Smart the smallest U.S. dealership network among brands tracked by the Automotive News Data Center. In 2016, Lamborghini sold 1,041 cars at 31 dealerships, Rolls-Royce sold 1,289 cars at 35 dealerships, Ferrari sold 2,300 cars at 37 dealerships and Lotus sold 12 cars at 41 dealerships.
Wolfgang
Kraftwagen König
- Messages
- 10,252
Smart Vision EQ claims to be electric city car of future
The electric two-seater gives us a clue to the future of city cars, urban mobility solutions and car-sharing models
Smart has revealed how it expects city cars, urban mobility solutions and car-sharing models to progress in the future with the unveiling of the electric Vision EQ Fortwo.
Set to make its public debut at the upcoming Frankfurt motor show, the self-driving two-seater showcases the solutions and technology Smart’s chief operating officer, Annette Winkler, says are being considered for the company's future city car models and are set to play a key role in parent company Mercedes-Benz’s Car2Go car-sharing programme by 2030.
“The Smart Vision EQ Fortwo is our vision of future urban mobility; fully autonomous, with maximum communication capabilities and electric,” says Winkler.
The centrepiece of the new concept car is an advanced Level 5 autonomous driving system. It is integrated with swarm intelligence in a move that Smart suggests will make future models and associated car-sharing fleets more convenient and efficient by better anticipating the predictability of demand.
“In the future, car-sharing users will not have to look for the next available car – it will find them and collect passengers directly from their chosen location,” says Winkler.
Smart considers the adoption of autonomous driving technology in the development of its Car2Go scheme a key component in its growth plans. Currently, a Smart model is hired every 1.4sec in cities around the world through a customer base of more than 2.6 million. The company says internal studies predict the number of users of car-sharing schemes worldwide will increase fivefold by 2025 to more than 36.7 million customers.
Hinting at plans by Smart to take its line-up exclusively electric in the future under Mercedes-Benz’s EQ electric sub-brand – a move that’s expected to be announced at next year’s Geneva motor show - the Vision EQ Fortwo features a rear-mounted electric motor and 30kWh lithium-ion battery offering a range of “well over 300km”.
When not in use, Smart envisages the two-seat city car to draw on its autonomous driving ability to make its way to a charging station, where its battery can be charged though inductive means, without the need to plug it in.
Conceived around a pod-like safety cell that provides clues to how Smart plans to evolve the high-strength steel Tridion structure used by all of its models since the company’s inception in 1998, the Vision EQ concept features a one-and-a-half-box exterior design that is expected to influence the styling of the next generation of Smart models.
The overall appearance is more rounded than existing Smart models, the dominating features being its heavily curved roofline, large wheel houses and ovoid-shaped doors.
In a continuation of the design of previous Fortwo models, the concept car’s 18in wheels are set at each corner, providing it with the largest possible footprint in a move aimed at maximising interior accommodation.
At 2699mm in length, 1720mm in width and 1535mm in height, the new concept car is the same length but 50mm wider and 25mm lower than today’s third-generation Fortwo.
“The Vision EQ Fortwo is a radical approach,” says Mercedes-Benz’s chief design officer, Gorden Wagener. “It has the hallmark Smart proportions with accentuated wheel arches and no overhangs, as well as the next level of communication and personalisation."
Key elements included on the new two-seater is a newly interpreted front end with a curvy new headlight design and a large trapezoidal-shaped grille – both featuring black panel displays that Smart claims will allow future models to provide greater personalisation and communication functions. A graphic within the headlights mimics the blinking of an eye when passengers approach, while the grille can display messages to prospective car-sharing customers.
Smart predicts future urban mobility models will see cars summoned via smartphone and says the integration of black panel technology, which is also used on the Mercedes-Benz EQ C electric car concept, will allow future models to display information not only meant for car-sharing customers but other road users.
The black panel monitors are designed to indicate whether the car is occupied by one or two passengers. Smart proposes that those wanting to use the sharing function can make contact with other users via a saved profile and travel plans, and can be accepted or rejected by the prime customer.
As with today’s Fortwo, the new concept car receives a defined bonnet with the front end structure used as a deformation zone for added safety. The rear end receives a deep, two-piece glass tailgate and high-set LED tail-lights that are designed to carry either a conventional look or provide information on traffic jams or possible delays.
To ease entry in tight parking spaces and reduce the danger of collision with cyclists, the two round electrically operated doors pivot backwards parallel to the sides of the car over the rear wheels, revealing a large aperture through which to climb aboard into the flat-floored cabin.
Inside, the self-driving Vision EQ Fortwo features a minimalistic cabin without a steering wheel, pedals or traditional controls. Functions are controlled via smartphone or voice control. With space for two, occupants sit on a lounge style seat featuring a retractable centre armrest.
A wrap-around windscreen and glass doors that can change between clear and an opaque hue provide all-round vision. Information sought by passengers is displayed on a 24in high-definition monitor mounted beneath the windscreen. Smart envisages the doors of the new concept to also display information, such as news, local events and weather, turning it into a mobile billboard.
Smart Vision EQ claims to be electric city car of future | Autocar
The electric two-seater gives us a clue to the future of city cars, urban mobility solutions and car-sharing models
Smart has revealed how it expects city cars, urban mobility solutions and car-sharing models to progress in the future with the unveiling of the electric Vision EQ Fortwo.
Set to make its public debut at the upcoming Frankfurt motor show, the self-driving two-seater showcases the solutions and technology Smart’s chief operating officer, Annette Winkler, says are being considered for the company's future city car models and are set to play a key role in parent company Mercedes-Benz’s Car2Go car-sharing programme by 2030.
“The Smart Vision EQ Fortwo is our vision of future urban mobility; fully autonomous, with maximum communication capabilities and electric,” says Winkler.
The centrepiece of the new concept car is an advanced Level 5 autonomous driving system. It is integrated with swarm intelligence in a move that Smart suggests will make future models and associated car-sharing fleets more convenient and efficient by better anticipating the predictability of demand.
“In the future, car-sharing users will not have to look for the next available car – it will find them and collect passengers directly from their chosen location,” says Winkler.
Smart considers the adoption of autonomous driving technology in the development of its Car2Go scheme a key component in its growth plans. Currently, a Smart model is hired every 1.4sec in cities around the world through a customer base of more than 2.6 million. The company says internal studies predict the number of users of car-sharing schemes worldwide will increase fivefold by 2025 to more than 36.7 million customers.
Hinting at plans by Smart to take its line-up exclusively electric in the future under Mercedes-Benz’s EQ electric sub-brand – a move that’s expected to be announced at next year’s Geneva motor show - the Vision EQ Fortwo features a rear-mounted electric motor and 30kWh lithium-ion battery offering a range of “well over 300km”.
When not in use, Smart envisages the two-seat city car to draw on its autonomous driving ability to make its way to a charging station, where its battery can be charged though inductive means, without the need to plug it in.
Conceived around a pod-like safety cell that provides clues to how Smart plans to evolve the high-strength steel Tridion structure used by all of its models since the company’s inception in 1998, the Vision EQ concept features a one-and-a-half-box exterior design that is expected to influence the styling of the next generation of Smart models.
The overall appearance is more rounded than existing Smart models, the dominating features being its heavily curved roofline, large wheel houses and ovoid-shaped doors.
In a continuation of the design of previous Fortwo models, the concept car’s 18in wheels are set at each corner, providing it with the largest possible footprint in a move aimed at maximising interior accommodation.
At 2699mm in length, 1720mm in width and 1535mm in height, the new concept car is the same length but 50mm wider and 25mm lower than today’s third-generation Fortwo.
“The Vision EQ Fortwo is a radical approach,” says Mercedes-Benz’s chief design officer, Gorden Wagener. “It has the hallmark Smart proportions with accentuated wheel arches and no overhangs, as well as the next level of communication and personalisation."
Key elements included on the new two-seater is a newly interpreted front end with a curvy new headlight design and a large trapezoidal-shaped grille – both featuring black panel displays that Smart claims will allow future models to provide greater personalisation and communication functions. A graphic within the headlights mimics the blinking of an eye when passengers approach, while the grille can display messages to prospective car-sharing customers.
Smart predicts future urban mobility models will see cars summoned via smartphone and says the integration of black panel technology, which is also used on the Mercedes-Benz EQ C electric car concept, will allow future models to display information not only meant for car-sharing customers but other road users.
The black panel monitors are designed to indicate whether the car is occupied by one or two passengers. Smart proposes that those wanting to use the sharing function can make contact with other users via a saved profile and travel plans, and can be accepted or rejected by the prime customer.
As with today’s Fortwo, the new concept car receives a defined bonnet with the front end structure used as a deformation zone for added safety. The rear end receives a deep, two-piece glass tailgate and high-set LED tail-lights that are designed to carry either a conventional look or provide information on traffic jams or possible delays.
To ease entry in tight parking spaces and reduce the danger of collision with cyclists, the two round electrically operated doors pivot backwards parallel to the sides of the car over the rear wheels, revealing a large aperture through which to climb aboard into the flat-floored cabin.
Inside, the self-driving Vision EQ Fortwo features a minimalistic cabin without a steering wheel, pedals or traditional controls. Functions are controlled via smartphone or voice control. With space for two, occupants sit on a lounge style seat featuring a retractable centre armrest.
A wrap-around windscreen and glass doors that can change between clear and an opaque hue provide all-round vision. Information sought by passengers is displayed on a 24in high-definition monitor mounted beneath the windscreen. Smart envisages the doors of the new concept to also display information, such as news, local events and weather, turning it into a mobile billboard.
Smart Vision EQ claims to be electric city car of future | Autocar
Wolfgang
Kraftwagen König
- Messages
- 10,252
^ It's supposed to be a vision for urban driving in 2030. Chancellor Angela Merkel just came by to take a look.
View attachment 422982
PS. Current smart car production backlogs via jesmb
smart with gasoline engine: 6 to 8 weeks
smart with electric power: 6 months (order intake exceeding planned capacity)
View attachment 422982
PS. Current smart car production backlogs via jesmb
smart with gasoline engine: 6 to 8 weeks
smart with electric power: 6 months (order intake exceeding planned capacity)
Similar threads
- Article
smart
Smart (stylized in lowercase) is a German automotive marque. Smart Automobile Co., Ltd. is a joint
venture established by Mercedes-Benz AG and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2019 and aimed at producing
Smart-badged cars in China to be marketed globally. The venture is headquartered in Ningbo, China.
It produces small battery electric vehicles in its manufacturing plant in China.
Official website: smart
Official website: smart
