Smart #1 and #3 fail to establish themselves in Europe or China
- Nicolas Hayek, founder of the Swatch watch group, is the creator of the Swatchmobile unveiled in the 1990s and which would become – after some modifications – the Smart in 1998, with the help of Mercedes. This small two-seater model, 2.50 m long, was unrivaled in Europe. This is the reason why the Smart (renamed Fortwo at the time of the launch of the four-seater Forfour ) would meet with some success on the European market, as an A-segment city car. Of a total of 2.5 million Smarts produced in France ( Hambach in Lorraine) between 1998 and 2024, 2.1 million were two-seater versions ( Fortwo ) and 0.4 million were four-seater versions ( Forfour ). The first sales peak was reached in 2004-2005 (132,000 units per year) after the launch of the Forfour which doubled the brand's offering, before a slow decline observed between 2006 and 2014, the volume of Smart sales falling from 132,000 in 2005 to 54,000 in 2014, with the abandonment of the Forfour in 2007. The new generations of Fortwo and Forfour launched in 2014 relaunched the brand which reached a second sales peak in 2019 (113,000 units). But the parent company Mercedes then decided to switch the entire Smart range to 100% electric and sales collapsed (due to a price of 26,500 euros for an electric Smart compared to 12,500 euros for a thermal Smart). In 2020, only 27,000 Smart cars were sold in Europe. However, 140,000 electric Smart cars will be sold there by December 2024.
- Mercedes has decided to partner with China's Geely to design and produce the future electric Smart cars in China. The first B-segment model will be launched in 2023 and the third C-segment model in 2024. However, these larger and more expensive models than the previous Fortwo and Forfour have failed to establish themselves in either the European or Chinese markets.
- Global Smart sales rose to 87,500 units in 2023, up from 37,000 in 2022, and fell back to 57,500 in 2024. The bottom line is that the Fortwo and Forfour haven't really been replaced. Customers are demanding an affordable electric A-segment Smart.