Smart Automobile Germany: Smart is a German automobile vehicle manufacturer company and division of Daimler AG, the company established in 1994, and headquartered in Boeblingen, Germany. The CEO of the company was Annette Winkler in 2010 to present. The company mainly produced micro cars and subcompacts, mainly Fotwo and Forfour with its main manufacturing plants situated in Hambach, France and Novo Mesto, Slovenia. It advertised and sold in 46 countries in Asia, North and South America, Africa, Australia and Europe, production of the Fortwo had exceed 1.7M units in the beginning of 2015.
The design concept for the company’s automobiles commenced at Mercedes-Benz in the early-70s and late-80s. After brief supporting by Volkswagen, the first model was issued by Daimler-Benz in October 1998. Many versions on the original design have been issued, with the original being the “Fortwo”.
Established
1994; 23 years ago
Headquarters
Toyota, Aichi, Japan
History
One of the first controversies at MCC was the name of the car itself. Nicolas Hayek insisted it retain Swatch in some way: “Swatch mobile”, or “Swatch Car”. Daimler-Benz refused, and pushed for a neutral name. The final selection was Smart, an acronym that had been previously used internally by MCC for Swatch Mercedes Art. By May 1994, the co-directors had identified 74 potential sites for the assembly plant. The final site announced on December 20, 1994: Hambach, France. The purpose-built factory quickly gained the nickname “Smartville”. Despite offloading a substantial amount of the development on the suppliers MCC required more capital.
Recapitalization by Daimler-Benz increased their share of ownership in the company to 81% by 1996, leaving SMH with only the remaining 19%.
The manufacturing plant opened on October 27, 1997, with a ritual ribbon-cutting by then-French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Helmut. Announcement of the new Smart city-Coupe planned for March, 1998, however dynamic instability of the models inspired Daimler-Benz to issue postponing the launch until October, 1998.
The car launched successfully in nine European countries in October 1998, but the final design did not fulfill Hayek’s expectations. Hayek pushed for a hybrid drivetrain but the final product used a relatively conventional gasoline engine. Shortly afterward Daimler-Benz bought out SMH’s remaining stake in the company.
More Information
The office in Biel shut down and operations consolidated at the MCC GmbH design centre in Germany. On January 1, 1999, MCC GmbH changed its name to MCC Smart GmbH, and by 2000, it dropped the last vestiges of the association with SMH, becoming Smart GmbH.The office in Biel was shut down and operations were consolidated at the MCC GmbH design centre in Germany. On January 1, 1999, MCC GmbH changed its name to MCC Smart GmbH, and by 2000, it dropped the last vestiges of the association with SMH, becoming Smart GmbH.
The car appeared successfully in 9- European countries in October 1998, but the final design did not complete Hayek’s hopes. Hayek pushed for a hybrid drivetrain but the final product used a comparatively conventional petrol engine. Shortly later Daimler-Benz bought out SMH’s remaining stake in the company. So, the office in Biel shut down and operations consolidated at the MCC GmbH design centre in Germany. On January 1, 1999, MCC GmbH changed its name to MCC Smart GmbH, and by 2000, it dropped the last vestiges of the association with SMH, becoming Smart GmbH.
The model line subsequently expanded to include the Roadster a rear-engine, rear-drive and four-door, four-seat supermini aptly named Forfour(the original City-Coupe renamed Fortwo to fit the new naming scheme). Smart now operates under the Mercedes-Benz Cars division of Daimler AG, offering the Fortwo coupe, Fortwo Cabrio and Forfour hatchback.
Smart Electric Vehicle
An all-electric version of the Fortwo, (before known as Smart ED), started its creation since 2006. Field testing began in London with 100 units in 2007, and the second generation, with a total of 2,000 units produced and it released in 2009 and available in 18 markets globally, for leasing or through the Car2Go car sharing service in San Diego and Amsterdam. Production of the second-generation Smart Fortwo electric drive began in November 2009, in Hambach, France. However, the range of a fully charged battery is up to 135 km(84 miles) under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s official all-electric range is 63 miles (101 km) and rated the Smart ED with a combined fuel economy of 87 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (mpg-e) (2.7 L petrol equivalent/100 km,104 mpg-imp gasoline equivalent.
The fourth-generation smart Fortwo electric drive shown on September 29, 2016 at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. Based on the redesigned 453 chassis, the new model will be present as a 2017 model. Smart claims the new model will feature a 17.6-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack with 80 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque. Estimated range will be 99 miles on the European testing cycle.
Marketing
Asia: Japan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, North America: Canada, United States, Mexico, South America: Argentina, Brazil, Oceania: Australia, Europe: United Kingdom, Russia etc.
Safety
The new Smart awarded 3 out of 5 stars for Adult Occupant Protection and it also got “Good” ratings for front and side crash protection in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tests. Also, the Smart went airborne and turned around 450 degrees” causing “mass intrusion into the space around the dummy from top to bottom”.
Modification
Smart models have been updated by Brabus of Germany, resulting in BRABUS production models, including Smart BRABUS electric drive. Other companies changed the Smart Fortwo to use motorcycle engines, such as the Suzuki Hayabusa 1340 cc inline 4-cylinder. Also, these cars are known as Smartuki. So, the real car was connected with a light tuned engine and ran 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds. 1/4 mile standing start in 12.4 seconds and a top speed of 132 mph (212 km/h).