SMART

Earlier this year, Smart announced that it would be ending sales of the gas models and switch over to selling electric only models. This announcement has many Smart dealers running for the exit. According to Automotive News, dealers had until the end June to make a decision whether to keep selling Smarts or move to a service-only operation. Out of the 85 dealers in the U.S., 58 (about two-thirds) would move to the service-only operation. Smart spokeswoman Donna Boland said these numbers are

A new report from Automobile Magazine says that smart is living on borrow time and could disappear by 2026 at the earliest. According to various sources, Renault will be pulling out of partnership when the current Twingo/ForFour ends production. The two models share the same architecture in an effort to save costs. Without a partner, Mercedes-Benz isn't as keen to keep smart around. A key question is whether or not Mercedes-Benz will produce a new model with a three-pointed star to com

SMART may be the next brand heading for that great parking lot in the sky.  German newspaper Handelsblatt has reported that the brand's fate may be decided by the end of this year.  CEO Dieter Zetsche is leaving in May to be succeeded by Olin Kallenius.  Mr. Kallenius has no strong love for the brand, established in 1998 and is said to be more than willing to kill the brand if finances warrant it.  Since birth, SMART has lost billions of euros for Daimler, though the company does not break

We've been reporting that the future of SMART in the U.S. was uncertain. In an email to TechCrunch, Daimler has announced that SMART will end sales of their one model, the SMART EQ Fortwo, at the end of this model year.  Mercedes-Benz dealers in the US and Canada will continue to service and support SMART owners. The SMART EQ Fortwo is a electric only vehicle with a range of about 58 miles. SMART stopped selling the gasoline version of the car after 2017.  Daimler is not killing the brand e

Smart already finds itself in a small niche by selling small city cars in North America, but a new letter reveals that the brand will be entering an even smaller one. Automotive News obtained a letter from Dietmar Exler, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA which says the brand will cease sales of gas-powered models by the end of this year, becoming an electric-only brand. “Developments within the micro-car segment present some challenges for the current Smart product portfolio. Therefore, with th

From the 'we weren't expecting this news' department, smart has revealed the 2016 fortwo and forfour. smart hopes that the new models begin to turn their fortunes around. The 2016 fortwo and forfour are instantly recognizable as smart vehicles with the tall body height, short overhangs, and the rear body panel that is a different color to highlight the model's Tridion safety cell. The front end is squashed-in and comes with larger headlights. Inside, the fortwo and forfour get a much more cont

We recently reported that Daimler could possibly kill off the SMART brand after years of losing money.  One of our own suggestions was that SMART expand into a regular car brand instead of staying in just the micro-car segment.   Well, things change quickly in this industry. Yesterday, Daimler paired with Chinese manufacturer Geely in a 50-50 joint venture to bring the next generation of SMART vehicles to China.  Part of that expansion will be a move up into the sub-compact market, a fast-growin