Smart produces one-millionth car

Hambach, France - Smart has built its one-millionth Fortwo at a time when the company is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Fortwo. The milestone car is a Micro Hybrid Drive in silver metallic and will be donated to charity.
“The Smart electric drive makes zero-emission driving in an urban environment a reality,” said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, president and CEO of Daimler AG. “The continuing rising demand shows the success and the potential of the Smart Fortwo from Hambach. This year we have already sold 90,000 cars, more than 16,000 of them in the U.S.A. From mid-2009, the Smart will also become a familiar sight on Chinese roads.”
The new Smart Fortwo electric drive with a lithium-ion battery will be produced in a small series from the end of 2009; the company debuted the Fortwo EV electric vehicle in 2006 and since 2007, a fleet of 100 Fortwo EVs has been tested in everyday service in London.
“The Fortwo is a success story,” said Anders Sundt Jensen, Head of Brand Management for Smart. “It has won lots of fans in 37 markets worldwide. The Smart is particularly sought-after in the U.S.A. which, even in the first year of the market launch, has become the third-strongest market after Italy and Germany. There it is already a familiar sight on the roads of cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Phoenix.”
The Smart plant in Hambach was inaugurated in 1997 and produced its first vehicle in 1998.
Source: Canadian Driver

smart Becomes Official Global Partner

- 24-hour, concert series on all continents to combat global warming
- Partnership announced today in Stuttgart by DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, SOS/Live Earth founder Kevin Wall and singer Katie Melua
-Largest global music event of all time
Stuttgart, Germany, May 23, 2007

“Open your mind” - and combine an exciting lifestyle with environmental protection: True to its philosophy, smart is supporting the Live Earth concerts and “Save Our Selves – SOS” campaign against global warming launched by Founder Kevin Wall and Partner former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. DaimlerChrysler is with smart the world’s only automaker serving as an official partner of the Live Earth concerts, which will feature more than 100 headliners on July 7, 2007. smart is providing the official shuttle service for all artists and other celebrities participating in Live Earth.
Read more here.

Toyota readies a Smart rival

A Toyota Smart? Tell me more...
Remember the Toyota Endo? It was one of many concept cars vying for attention at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2005, but the Japanese firm is now readying a production version to show this autumn, CAR Online has learned.

It's a sub-Aygo city car to square up to DaimlerChrysler's Smart Fortwo; DC boss Dieter Zetsche recently told CAR Online that Smart had been close to extinction, but the product planners were convinced that the market for tiny city cars would grow in an environmentally pressured age, so the brand was saved. Toyota now wants a slice of this market and a production Endo is due in showrooms in 2008.
View source.

Smart car says owner loyalty behind sales optimism

MADRID, Jan 31 (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler sounded an optimistic note on sales and profits for its new Smart brand car as journalists began test driving the re-designed two-seater for the first time. Smart head Ulrich Walker said he would not be draw[n] on sales predictions, but he was confident existing owners' loyalty would provide a key base for the new ForTwo as the division aims finally to break even this year."In a second generation we have these customers in the bank, and we will also get new customers in the future. This is the basis of our volume planning," Walker told journalists on the sidelines of the car's media test drive late on Tuesday. The Smart ForTwo car was a totally new concept when it was launched in 1998 but still sold 770,000, Walker pointed out. The division has lost money since the brand's launch, but after the new model goes on sale in April, Walker expects the minicar business to be in profit by the beginning of 2008. "We will reach break even on operating profit by the end of 2007," Walker said, reiterating previous comments. DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche has made profitability at Smart one of his top priorities, slashing material costs for the new ForTwo by 12 percent and the time to build it by a fifth.

Read full more here.

New Smart-car sales projected

44,000 possible in 2008 when Daimler releases minicar in United States

DaimlerChrysler AG may be able to sell as many as 44,000 of the two-seat Smart minicars each year in the United States when the vehicle goes on sale in 2008, said CEO Roger Penske of United Auto Group Inc., which will distribute the model in the world's largest market.
About 4,000 Smart cars were sold in Canada in the model's first year there, and the U.S. market is 11 times larger, Penske said in an interview late Thursday in Stuttgart, Germany, where DaimlerChrysler presented a new version of the Smart. No incentives will be offered on the car, which will start at about $11,000, he added.
DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche reiterated that Smart will break even next year.
Zetsche aims to capitalize on demand for fuel economy as the cost of gasoline hovers above $2 a gallon in the United States. The car gets more than 40 miles per gallon and has a range of about 400 miles, Zetsche said at the presentation Thursday night.

Read full story here.

Ask Dr Z ? Not in Canada. Dreadful pity.

Is it Doctor Zee or Doctor Zed? Doesn't matter how you say it - he only takes questions from Americans. I visited the site and attempted to send a message but found when I tried to enter my address there is a pull down menu for "state" but not one for country.
You can watch the five commercials featuring DCX chairman Dr Dieter Zetsche and read "recent questions" but not ask anything unless you phreak it by entering a state and corresponding zip code.
The ad campaign launched July first of this year has been suspended as of September first.

Chrysler suspends Dr. Z ads; return in works Company will debut ten new vehicles as it braces for a $600 million third-quarter loss.
Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News
The mustachioed German pitchman that graced television screens as part of a two-month, $100 million Chrysler advertising campaign has been muted -- for now.
The Chrysler Group on Thursday suspended its Ask Dr. Z television and radio spots starring DaimlerChrysler AG Chairman Dieter Zetsche as it prepares to roll out new zero-percent financing offers for 72 months today.
The automaker is examining phase two of the brand-building Dr. Z campaign.
Well known in Detroit, Zetsche was introduced to the nation this summer in ads to tout to buyers that its cars and trucks have the best of American and German design and engineering.
The ads, which started airing July 1, generated plenty of discussion, both from those who liked the quirky commercials and critics who said they were ineffective or ill-conceived.
Read full report here.

Daimler Cuts Full-Year Profit Target on Chrysler Woes (Update7)

By Jeremy van Loon and Barbara Powell
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's fifth-largest carmaker, unexpectedly cut its full-year profit forecast because of a projected $1.5 billion loss at Chrysler in the U.S. in the third quarter. Its U.S. shares fell the most in more than four years.
For the full year, DaimlerChrysler will post an operating profit of about 5 billion euros ($6.3 billion) compared with an earlier forecast of more than 6 billion euros, the Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker said. Chrysler previously expected to lose as much as 500 million euros ($600 million) in the quarter.
-------------------
Zetsche, who starred in television ads as "Dr. Z.'' this summer to promote Chrysler vehicles, is also spending 3 billion euros to cut 15,000 jobs, including 8,500 at the Mercedes Car Group, which includes the unprofitable Smart car business. Mercedes lost its position as the world's largest maker of luxury cars to Munich-based Bayerische Motoren Werke [BMW] AG last year.
Read full report at source: bloomberg.com

American Mercedes dealers don't want to sell Smart car

Monday July 17, 2006 6:47 PM EST - By: Michael Kwan
I would say that the Smart ForTwo has done quite well for itself in Canada, selling out of Mercedes-Benz dealerships right alongside the more upscale models, including the SLK, CLK, and S-Class lines. It seems a little out of place in the showroom with vehicles that [sell] for as much as 10 times more, but that hasn't hampered its sales one bit.
American Mercedes dealerships, however, are opposed to selling the Smart car out of their showrooms, despite the fact that DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche is heavily pushing for the fuel-sipping brand to make a big splash in the States. The dealers are concerned about damaging the Mercedes-Benz image, according to Mercedes dealer council chairman Doug Callahan.That said, DaimlerChrysler has already announced that the Smart car will definitely be States-bound for 2008, so they'll have to find somewhere to sell it. Some have said that the ForTwo would be a better fit in a Chrysler or Dodge showroom, but Callahan is simply hoping to make Smart sales in Mercedes dealerships optional.

View source.

Penske Lays Out Plans for Smart Car

Washington DC July 3, 2006; The AIADA newsletter reported that Roger Penske thinks his UnitedAuto Group can profitably distribute DaimlerChrysler's Smart Car by "signing 30 to 50 franchised dealerships in urban markets, setting modes sales goals and relying on unconventional marketing techniques," reports Automotive News. Penske made his remarks last week after DaimlerChrysler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche announced plans to introduce Smart to the United States. Penske and Dave Schembri, who will be president of Smart USA, did not announce sales targets, but they have modest expectations, according to the paper. On a per-store basis, Smart dealers might expect to match the unit sales volume of Mini dealers -- about 40 cars per month. If so, Penske could expect to sell 15,000 to 20,000 per year. The automaker's total investment in the U.S. Smart network will be substantially less than $100 million, estimates Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst for Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Frankfurt.

View source.
[Photo: Dave Schembri - Mercedes Benz USA vice president in charge of Smart, who resigned as executive vice president of North American sales for Mitsubishi in February 2006.]

smart Vehicles Go USA – UnitedAuto Group Selected as Future Exclusive Distributor

Detroit, Michigan, USA / Böblingen, Germany, June 28, 2006

Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX) and head of Mercedes Car Group today announced that the unique and urban-friendly smart brand will enter the U.S. market. Beginning in 2008, the successor to the smart fortwo will be available in U.S. markets in three models. The U.S.A., as the world's largest automotive market, will be the 37th market for smart.
The Parties have agreed on the framework for the exclusive distribution of smart vehicles by international automotive retailer UnitedAuto Group, Inc. (NYSE:UAG). UnitedAuto will be responsible for awarding potential dealers and developing and maintaining a smart vehicle dealership network throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

Read full article here.

DaimlerChrysler May Build Smart Car in the US

Citing DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche, Reuters reports that DaimlerChrysler corporation apparently considers building its Smart minicar in the United States. Talking to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Zetsche said that "the tendency [to grow Smarts on American soil] is clearly positive".DaimlerChrysler's CEO expects board of directors to reach the final decision till the end of this month. Mr Zetsche reiterated once again that his company is committed to turn now loss-making Smart minicar production into a profitable business.A year earlier DaimlerChrysler put off the assembly line its Smart Roadster, which will presumably be revived by the British Project Kimber, and also abandoned plans for a Smart offroader.

See source:

Daimler eyes U.S. partner for Smart

HEIDELBERG, Germany, June 7 (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler is looking for a partner that could help sell the Smart ForTwo minicar in the United States, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said in an interview with Germany's Capital magazine.
"The sales network is decisive...It is certain that we want to cooperate with a third party," he told the financial magazine.
"The small city car doesn't fit optimally in many cases to the strong luxury positioning of the Mercedes-Benz brand and its locations," Zetsche continued, adding that only the group's Dodge brand came into question here.
"But it (Dodge) already has a very broad product portfolio. For our ForTwo we need our own smart way," the CEO said.
Zetsche reiterated the group is in favour of selling the car in the U.S. market and that a final decision would come this month.
Earlier, Daimler reported that deliveries of its Smart cars to customers fell nearly 22 percent in the first five months of the year.
Sales have been hurt by falling demand for the Smart ForFour, which it will scrap from its range -- leaving only the original ForTwo left from erstwhile plans that once envisioned expanding the line to four separate models.
Daimler hopes that dropping the ForFour model will help premium division Mercedes Car Group, in which the Smart brand is included, hit its target of at least 7 percent operating margin next year.
Zetsche reaffirmed in the interview he was certain that Mercedes was on track to meet this goal. Source.

Is Smart coming to the U.S.?

The loss-making city car from Mercedes-Benz may finally be headed to America.By Alex Taylor III, FORTUNE senior editor June 8, 2006: 3:02 PM EDT

NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - You can see tiny Smart cars, those egg-shaped two-seaters, doubled up in parking spaces or sitting on city sidewalks all over Europe, where they have been sold since 1998. But Smart has never come to the United States.
The Mercedes-Benz unit has struggled to make money from the day it was conceived, and writeoffs to date run to the billions of dollars. With losses so steep, plans to sell the car here have been repeatedly delayed as Mercedes has struggled to find a profit-making formula.
Now, DaimlerChrysler chairman Dieter Zetsche is dropping hints that Smart will make its way to the United States. Speaking to reporters in Portland, Oregon last week at an event marking the 25th anniversary of Daimler's acquisition of Freightliner trucks, Zetsche said a final decision on Smart for the U.S. would be made this month, once a verdict was reached on how to distribute it.

Read full article here.

Note: The question of Mercedes launching the smart fortwo in the US has been hanging over Zetsche's head since he took over the helm in January 2006.

Previous SCOOT posts on the topic:

Zetsche Takes Mercedes Helm - optimistic about smart Friday, September 09, 2005
DaimlerChrysler near Smart car decision Thursday, December 01, 2005
DaimlerChrysler Stalls Smart Launch in U.S. Friday, December 23, 2005
Daimler may launch Smart minicar in U.S. Friday, March 03, 2006

DaimlerChrysler's Zetsche Upbeat On Smart Car For U.S.

Chris Noon, 06.01.06, 11:41 AM ET - London
The Smart car fits in well in Europe. Well, if you're 250 centimeters long, you fit in well pretty much anywhere. The Lilliputian roadster that can seat two people and a crate of beer may look agreeable parked up on Rome's baroque piazze and Paris' boulevards--maybe with a wing-mirror or two missing--yet DaimlerChrysler is now interested in bringing the mini "metrosexual" car to a country where size has always mattered : the SUV-obsessed U.S. Though the 8-foot 2-inch Smart car will certainly look strange on the U.S.' beach-sized highways and fare poorly on the rugged terrain of Uncle Sam's more mountainous areas, it could definitely catch on in Boston, Chicago, New York and Miami Beach. DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said Wednesday night that the chances of introducing the Smart in the U.S. were "good".

Read the full article here.

Daimler gears up for faster growth

Wednesday, April 12, 2006; Posted: 12:30 p.m. EDT (16:30 GMT)

BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- DaimlerChrysler is poised to raise its profitability through 2006 but will continue to cut jobs as it works to reinvigorate its marquee Mercedes-Benz product lineup, chief executive Dieter Zetsche said Wednesday.

The company also will stick with struggling compact brand Smart, he said.
"We are not satisfied with last year's results," Zetsche told some 8,000 shareholders of the world's fifth-largest automaker at a Berlin convention center. "We can only safeguard the future of our company and the jobs of our workers if we achieve profitable growth."

Zetsche, making his first appearance as CEO at the annual meeting, got a much warmer reception than his predecessor Juergen Schrempp, who was greeted last year with boos amid mounting problems at Mercedes Car Group -- rising losses, a recall and problems with the Smart unit.

Read full article here.

DaimlerChrysler to Spend EU1 Bln More to Fix Smart (Update5)

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- DaimlerChrysler AG, seeking to end losses at its Smart division, plans to scrap a four-seater model, integrate the small-car unit and eliminate 300 jobs in Germany, spending 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion).
DaimlerChrysler will focus on the two-seater ForTwo and cut about 40 percent of the workforce at Boeblingen, Germany, near Stuttgart, the company said in a faxed release today. The cuts are in administration, sales and research and development.
``The focus on one model will help us further reduce fixed costs and material costs, which will make sure that we reach and sustain profitability at Smart,'' Marc Binder, a DaimlerChrysler spokesman, said in a telephone interview today.
The moves show that DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche plans to keep the unit that never reached its target of selling 200,000 vehicles a year, defying some investors who wanted the company to sell the division. The world's fifth-largest carmaker in January hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to gauge interest from potential buyers.

Photo by Lucy, with thanks to B-J L.

Read full article here.

Daimler may launch Smart minicar in U.S.

The car manufacturer is also considering selling the unit.
February 26, 2006: 10:38 AM EST
FRANKFURT, (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler is leaning in favor of launching its struggling Smart minicar brand in the United States, its chief executive told a German newspaper on Sunday.
"It is now more likely that we will decide in favor of, rather than against (entering) the U.S.," Dieter Zetsche told Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview released in advance of publication on Monday.
A decision on launching the next generation of Smart two-seaters in the United States is expected in the first half of this year, Zetsche said.
Smart narrowed its operating loss in 2005 from about 600 million euros ($714 million) in 2004, Zetsche told an analyst conference call earlier this month.

Read full story here.