Smart eyes ´green tipping point´ on new fortwo debut

Smart has been refinanced and reorganised by its Daimler-Benz parent company, refocused on it model line up and gone are the forfour hatchback and roadster models.

Now smart are using the thoughtful ‘green’ bandwagon as the platform to launch its all-new fortwo models in the UK on 15 September with prices starting from £6,900 for coupe versions and £9,240 for cabrio variants.

Prices announced this week for the higher performance Brabus versions, which go on sale in the first quarter of 2008, see the coupe at £13,520 and the cabrio at £15,470.

Further fortwo variants with a low 88g/km CO2, 85.7mpg, diesel engine, a 71bhp petrol stop-start power unit and an all-electric version are being added from 2008 onwards.

Mercedes-Benz had developed their first two-seat city car in the 1980s but it was 1994 before they decided to establish the smart brand having also taken over the Swatch micro-car project. The smart city-car/fortwo became the core product and the vehicle went on sale in 1998.

At that time ecology was a low priority issue in the minds of their customers. People bought the fortwo because of its style rather than its environmental credentials.??

Ian Dutfield, marketing director for the Mercedes Car Group in the UK said yesterday at the media launch of the new smart fortwo coupe and cabrio models, “If we hadn’t already invented smart, we would have had to invent it today.”

“We see the present day going down in history as a ‘tipping point’, as a ‘green tipping point’, a point in time where there has been a significant rise in customers who want to lead energy conscious lifestyles without sacrificing individuality, mobility, comfort and safety. Driving with fun and painlessly green is the central theme here.”

After its launch in 1998 the fortwo was later joined by the forfour and the roadster sports car as the smart brand grew but failed to make a profit or find enough customers willing to buy smart as a lifestyle vehicle.

Eventually the forfour hatchback and roadster ranges were deleted from the line-up and now the smart brand is re-launched with a new fortwo range.

Dutfield said, “The smart operation will now focus on coupe and cabrio models and we have no plans to expand the model range. The business model for smart was initially wrong. Now we have brought smart back to the market as it was intended – a city car, but greatly improved thanks to the input of the Mercedes-Benz and it now dovetails into the Mercedes brand of models.”

He added, “Smart in the UK will be sold through 34 market areas using 160 retail sites but we are seeing a younger audience for smart emerging with the internet bringing in customers young through to old. Predominately the majority of smart fortwo users are women but men are the principal buyers of the higher performance Brabus version.”

“With smart, the customer’s view is ‘I want one - I must have one’ it is all about style and its unique two-seater design and compactness. If people want more than two seats they will buy something else but the market place is moving towards cars of this nature due to congestion and ‘green’ issues.”

He added, “Because the residual values of the new generation fortwo models will improve, like for like they have more space, improved specification, better performance and a low group one insurance rating, so the new cars are a much better proposition than previous smarts.

"Ownership costs will be less despite there being a small price increase - 1 to 3 per cent. This allows us to look at introducing for customers a total ownership financial package which will include the initial purchase price, road tax, insurance and servicing costs.”??

The new smart fortwo models are still three-cylinder petrol engined two-seaters but with more occupant room, more luggage space, more power, a new automated manual transmission and improved driveability.

Andrew Gellatly, product executive for smart in the UK said this week, “The world has changed now and small cars are the smart option. This sector of the UK market has grown by 33 per cent this year. Like-for-like the new smart models are cheaper than the ones they replace although they offer more in every area. The three-cylinder 660cc petrol engine has been enlarged to 999cc and it will be available with 61, 71, 84 and 98bhp power outputs.”

He added, “Of the 770,000 smart fortwo models sold worldwide since its launch, 50,000 have been sold in the UK. Sales began with left hand drive only versions in 2000. The best year for sales in the UK was 2003 when 8,500 were sold. This year around 2,000 of the current model will have been sold prior to the new and slightly larger second generation versions going on sale.”

Mercedes will never talk about advance sales projections but it is thought that the new fortwo models should return better annual sales than the 3,600 registrations achieved in 2006. The UK is the largest market however for sales of Brabus models, which traditionally account for around 2 per cent of total fortwo registrations.

Smart say 80 per cent of UK sales will be to private buyers although there is increasing interest from the business community who need fuel efficient, easy to park city cars. The majority of drivers are female covering all ages.

The most popular engine size will be the 71bhp unit and the best selling specification is expected to be Passion and around 60 per cent of buyers opt for coupe hardtop models, most with a sunroof.

The UK is the fourth largest market after Germany, Italy and France for fortwo and this country has the largest smart Owners Club in the world.

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