Smart will withdraw from the US market this summer
- The Smart brand has been marketed in the United States since 2008. Its objective was to follow in the footsteps of the Fiat 500 and BMW Mini, which were then very successful (the Mini sold more than 50,000 units per year).
- The Fortwo was the only Smart model marketed in the United States. It was a challenge because the Fortwo is an urban model with only two seats, while the Fiat 500 and Mini are four seats.
- The Fortwo, which was exported from the French factory in Hambach, was a small success in 2008 (25,000 sales), particularly in New York City, but sales declined rapidly to 5,000 units in 2011. In the following years (2012-2014), Fortwo's sales increased to 10,000 units per year, but sales plummeted in 2015, despite the launch of the new generation, and sales fell to 6,000 units in 2016, 3,000 units in 2017 and only 1,276 units in 2018.
- In the first quarter of 2019, sales did not exceed 316 units.
- The Daimler Group, owner of the Smart brand, has therefore decided to stop marketing the Fortwo on the American market this summer. In total, nearly 100,000 Smart Fortwo cars were sold in the United States during the 2008-2019 period.
- This model has not been able to establish itself on a market dominated by large vehicles (SUVs, pick-ups, minivans). The Fortwo did not meet market demand because it was too small. As far as city cars are concerned (niche vehicles in the USA), American customers have turned to the Fiat 500 and especially the BMW Mini, which are much stronger in terms of customer image enhancement.
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