Posts Tagged ‘smart news’
Maker will also unveil new battery-powered bicycle.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Aug.16, 2011
Smart adds range and boosts performance with the third-generation Fortwo Electric Drive.
Daimler’s troubled Smart car brand hopes to charge up consumers when it rolls out an all-new version of the Fortwo Electric Drive at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show.
Smart claims the third-generation battery drive system will deliver both better range and improved acceleration, trimming by 1.5 second the time needed to reach 60 kmh. The newest version of the Fortwo Electric Drive is expected to go on sale in 30 markets – including North America – during the second quarter of 2012. And Smart parent Daimler AG anticipates the improvements will yield a five-fold increase in sales compared to the outgoing battery car.
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Meanwhile, Smart has also announced it will move ahead with plans to diversify its line-up with the launch of a new “eBike.”
Smart initially launched a limited production version of the Fortwo ED last year. But it received complaints about sluggish performance and limited range. To overcome those concerns, the maker has shifted to a new version of the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery and revised the motor drive system, as well.
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Tags: Smart ED, auto news, car news, daimler news, electric vehicles, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, smart accumotive, smart battery bike, smart battery car, smart ebike, smart fortwo electric drive, smart news, smart tesla, tesla news, tesla toyota, thedetroitbureau, toyota news
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Results “more positive than expected,” claims CEO Zetsche.
by Joseph Szczesny on Apr.13, 2011
Big goals from Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche.
As he did during the company’s last shareholders meeting, Daimler AG chief executive Dieter Zetsche emphasized the German giant was well on its way to profitable growth now and in the future.
“Our company is operating successfully,” he told more than 5,000 investors gathered in Berlin. Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars were up 12% during the first quarter, noted Zetsche, while sales of Daimler Trucks increased by 27%.
“We announced that we would emerge from the crisis with a lot of torque. We have kept our word: Actual developments were even more positive than expected,” Zetsche said.
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Meanwhile, the product offensive started by Mercedes-Benz Cars in 2010 is beginning to peak. The launch of the new-generation C-Class and the new SLK in early 2011 will be followed in autumn by a new M-Class crossover and a completely new version of the small B-Class people-mover, the first of four new models in the compact segment.
“We want to make our (125th) anniversary year a record year as well,” Zetsche said.
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Tags: auto news, daimler dividend, daimler earnings, daimler news, daimler sales, dieter zetsche, joe szczesny, mercedes news, mercedes sales, smart car, smart news, smart sales, thedetroitbureau
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Two-seater emphasizes green performance.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.25, 2011
Who says you can't have fun driving a battery car? Smart ForSpeed puts a premium on performance.
Daimler’s Smart brand is clearly plugging into battery power. The maker’s new ED – short for Electric Drive – has just gone on sale here in the U.S. And at the Geneva Motor Show, next week, Smart will offer a hint of where it might plan to take the technology going forward.
The intriguing news is that the Smart ForSpeed puts as much of a premium on performance as it does on energy efficiency. The lithium-ion-powered two-seater reportedly can launch from 0 to 60 (kilometers an hour, that is) in just 5.5 seconds. Getting to 60 mph takes just under 9 seconds.
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The concept relies on a compact 41-horsepower electric motor. That might not seem like much but it helps to realize that electric propulsion generates maximum torque the moment the motor starts spinning. But there’s also a “boost” switch on the center console that unleashes an extra 7 horsepower when you’re really hoping to burn rubber.
Smart anticipates a top speed of 75 mph for the ForSpeed and, if you’re a bit less aggressive with the throttle, range of about 85 miles. A quick charger, it claims, can yield an 80% recharge in as little as 45 minutes.
The ultra-thin seats come with four-point belts to keep you firmly in place when you’re challenging that old-style muscle car in the next lane, by the way.
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Tags: Geneva Motor Show, Smart ED, auto news, battery cars, car news, electric vehicles, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, smart cars, smart electric drive, smart forspeed, smart fortwo, smart geneva, smart news, smart reviews, thedetroitbureau
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But after years of dithering, can the Germans do better at selling microcars to Americans?
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.18, 2011
Roger Penske and his team - including Smart boss Jill Lajdziak - appear to have been blindsided by Daimler's announcement about the brand's future.
After dithering for years over the future of Smart, Daimler AG is about to take a make-it-or-break it gamble on the long-struggling brand.
In a surprise move, the German maker – which also builds the high-line Mercedes-Benz brand, announced it would pull Smart’s U.S. distribution operations away from the Detroit-based Penske Auto Group and operate the American franchise on its own. Penske had been given the distributorship, in 2008, after years of delay by Daimler, which wasn’t sure how to sell small cars in a market that normally equates bigger with better.
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Roger Penske, chairman of the eponymous Penske Auto Group and one of the most respected figures in the U.S auto industry, says the German automaker’s decision to cancel its distribution agreement with PAG was shaped by a desire to integrate Smart more closely into the Mercedes-Benz marketing organization.
“Going forward, Smart is seen as an integral part of the Mercedes-Benz network,” Penske said, adding Mercedes-Benz also needs the efficiency credits generated by Smart to meet future fuel-economy standards in both Europe and North America.
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Tags: Penske smart, Roger Penske, auto news, car news, daimler news, daimler smart, jill lajdziak, mercedes smart, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, penske auto group, penske loses smart, smart fortwo, smart news, thedetroitbureau
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Move likely to scuttle plan for a Nissan-made Smart four-seater.
by Joseph Szczesny on Feb.15, 2011
Roger Penske's auto group will lose the Smart USA franchise by mid-2011 to Mercedes-Benz.
Days after officials from the Penske Automotive Group expressed their commitment to stand by the struggling Smart brand, they’ve been given their walking paper by Daimler AG, which produces the minicars.
Operation of the franchise, which has seen its sales in the U.S. collapse since a briefly successful 2008 launch, will be taken over by Mercedes-Benz USA by the middle of the year. MBUSA said it has already begun negotiations to end Penske Automotive Group’s management, sales and marketing activities of the Smart car in the United States.
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The announcement also appears to spell the end of Penske’s efforts to rebuild the Smart brand in the U.S. by turning to Nissan, which was expected to begin providing a new four-seat model that was to be introduced wearing a Smart badge, later this year.
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Tags: Penske smart, auto news, car news, daimler news, mercedes benz smart, mercedes news, mercedes smart, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, penske auto group, penske daimler, penske loses smart, penske news, smart fortwo, smart news, smart nissan, smart renault, thedetroitbureau
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U.S. distributor may teach the Germans what’s needed to save smart brand.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Jan.14, 2011
With the brand's sales off another 60%, last year, Smart USA boss Jill Lajdziak can only hope and wait for the distributor's planned 4-seat model.
It was the hit of 2008, its U.S. launch inadvertently timed to take advantage of the record run-up in fuel prices. But since then, things haven’t gone nearly so well for the little Smart USA brand, which reported a nearly 60% drop in sales, last year alone, even as most makers reported double-digit gains.
In a bid to stave off disaster, the U.S. distributor, which is operated by Detroit entrepreneur Roger Penske, plans to introduce an all-new model later this year that will be built for it by Nissan, rather than Daimler, the German parent of the Smart brand.
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Might even more products be added to the U.S. line-up that aren’t available to Smart buyers in other parts of the world? That’s not out of the question, according to various company officials who are betting that Smart can rebound from its disastrous tumble.
“We’ve got a business to run,” and that means that Smart USA may have to make some critical moves that aren’t necessarily what the folks at Daimler AG headquarters, in Stuttgart would like,” acknowledges Jill Lajdziak, the U.S. distributor’s boss.
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Tags: Penske smart, Roger Penske, auto news, car news, daimler renault, jill lajdziak, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, smart brand, smart car, smart daimler, smart fortwo, smart news, smart renault, smart usa, thedetroitbureau
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Rental company planning a fleet of battery cars.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Dec.06, 2010
A Smart Electric Drive cruises New York.
Want to see if you can live with an electric vehicle? Your first step may be to check the fleet at your local Hertz rental office. The nation’s largest daily rental company is charging into the emerging battery car market, and plans to add the new Smart Electric Drive model to its fleet, starting next week.
Hertz has already signed deals with a variety of other battery car makers, ranging from the start-up Coda to more established manufacturers that include Nissan, General Motors and Toyota.
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Industry experts are divided over the potential market for battery-electric vehicles, especially in the U.S., where so-called “range anxiety” is a factor for buyers used to being able to drive long distances whenever they want. So, placing products in a rental fleet, like Hertz, can provide a way for potential buyers to try before they buy.
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Tags: Smart ED, auto news, car news, electric vehicle rentals, fortwo electric driver, hertz battery cars, hertz electric vehicles, hertz leaf, hertz news, hertz smart, hertz volt, nissan leaf rentals, paul a. eisenstein, smart ed rental, smart electric drive, smart electric vehicle, smart news, thedetroitbureau, volt rentals
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Aiming to counter slow sales with new small car.
by Joseph Szczesny on Nov.17, 2010
An "outside" designer has been hired by Smart USA to work up a real-world version of this concept 4-seater due out by 2012.
Struggling to overcome cripplingly slow sales, Smart USA has brought in an outside design house to work on the new small car the maker is developing with help from Nissan.
Jill Lajdziak, smart USA president, confirmed to TheDetroitBureau.com that Penske Automotive Group, has turned to an outside design partner to work with Nissan on both the exterior and interior design for a four-seat Smart.
Lajdziak declined to identify the designer but confirmed the project is already well along.
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The project is particularly unusual because Smart USA is working directly with Nissan on the vehicle, without the participation of the smaller maker’s German parent, Daimler AG.
The 4-seater coming from Smart USA-Nissan is expected to be ready for the market by the end of 2011 or in early 2012, at the earliest.
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Tags: Fiat 500, auto news, car news, joe szczesny, smart daimler, smart designer, smart fortwo, smart four-door, smart news, smart nissan, smart usa, thedetroitbureau
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New model to be assembled at Nissan plant in U.S.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Oct.06, 2010
Smart will begin selling a Nissan-derived 5-door in late 2011.
Desperately struggling to reverse crashing sales, Smart USA has inked a memo of understanding with Japan’s Nissan to provide a new 5-door model to the Smart microcar line-up.
The first clear product to emerge from a new partnership between Daimler and the Euro-Asian Renault-Nissan Alliance, the B-segment hatchback will reach the U.S. market by the fourth quarter of 2011, the partners say.
While specifics remain to be released, inside sources tell TheDetroitBureau.com the Smart hatchback will be based on a next-generation platform and not the current B-segment Nissan, the Versa.
In an unusual move, this particular memorandum of understanding specifically links Smart USA and Nissan, though insiders report a version of the new product will very likely show up in other Smart dealerships around the world at some point.
Significantly, those sources tell TheDetroitBureau.com, the two-row, 5-seat Smart will be produced in the United States, rather than in France, where the maker’s current fortwo model is produced. While they won’t discuss specific production details it appears to point to Nissan’s Smyrna plant, since the Japanese maker’s other American facility focuses largely on trucks and larger models.
“The new vehicle will expand smart USA’s product lineup, offering five-seat capacity while maintaining the core principles of efficiency and conservation,” said Jill Lajdziak, president of Smart USA.
Smart needs to expand, and fast.
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After achieving a surprisingly strong launch in 2008 – which was timed serendipitously to coincide with the record run-up in U.S. fuel prices – things have taken a severe turn for the worse. In September 2010, the maker’s American distributor reported selling only 422 of the little fortwo 2-seaters, down 48% from year-earlier results – which were already sharply down. For the first nine months of 2010 Smart has sold just 4,770 cars, a 61.5% decline despite offering massive incentives.
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Tags: auto news, car news, daimler nissan renault, nissan news, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, smart 5-door, smart car, smart car sales, smart fortwo, smart news, smart nissan, thedetroitbureau
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Betting on batteries in Brooklyn.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Jun.10, 2010
Will Smart find 250 customers for the battery version of its fortwo microcar -- at twice the price and with an 82-mile range?
It’s not the traffic we find ourselves watching out for, though there’s plenty of it on the busy streets of Brooklyn, but the potholes, massive gaps in the pavement that yawn wide and threaten to engulf our entire little microcar.
It’s not a job but an adventure, at times, taking tomorrow’s cars out for a ride, though few draw as many glances – some admiring, others just agape — as the 2011 Smart fortwo Electric Drive. Call it the ED, for short, a battery-powered version of the French-German microcar.
The auto industry, as a whole, is increasingly coming to embrace the concept of electrification, with plug-in hybrids, like the Chevrolet Volt, and pure battery-electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf. Even Mercedes-Benz is exploring its options, all the way up to a battery-powered version of its SLS supercar.
But the German maker’s sibling brand, Smart, seems especially well-suited to enter the electric field, delivering a battery version of its nimble little two-seater that was already targeted to the urban market.
Smart will launch sales of 250 EDs in the U.S., late this year, complimenting the fleet of more than 1,500 it will put on the road in Europe. Plans call for launching full retail sales in 2012 as a 2013 model. But the maker hopes to learn a lot, by then, as the original crop of guinea pigs, er, buyers put their EDs through the rigors of daily motoring.
(Click Here to see how Smart is betting on the ED to revive the brand.)
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To get a sense of what they’re likely to discover, I headed to Brooklyn, earlier this week, where I squeezed into a fully-charged microcar alongside my colleague from TheDetroitBureau.com, Joe Szczesny.
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Tags: Fiat 500, Scion IQ, Smart ED, auto news, battery cars, car news, electric vehicles, fortwo ed, green car reviews, green cars, jill lajdziak, microcars, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, smart cars, smart electric drive, smart fortwo, smart news, smart reviews, thedetroitbureau
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