[hanmust]

Smart fortwo Electric Drive Series Production to Begin in 2012 in France

Daimler-owned diminutive car manufacturer Smart announced that they will begin full-scale production of an electric car in 2012. They will manufacture the Smart fortwo electric at Daimler's assembly facility in the northeastern French town of Hambach.

The parent company plans to make a multi-million euro investment in the plant to accommodate the new vehicle's production. French President Nicolas Sarkozy was visiting the plant when the announcement was made. The Head of State said that the French government will provide financial incentives to support the expansion. The Lorraine region will also provide assistance.

Opened 12 years ago, the Hambach plant houses 1,600 workers. They produced 140,000 units of the Smart fortwo last year alone.
Daimler chair Dr. Dieter Zetsche said that early plans of an initial 1,000-unit series production will continue as scheduled. The first batch of these vehicles will be delivered later this year. "As of 2012, the smart fortwo electric drive will then be part of the regular product program of the smart brand," Zetsche said.

The Smart fortwo electric will be powered by a 30 kilowatt motor, capable of getting the car up to 50 km/h in about 6.5 seconds. It will be able to travel about 115 kilometers on a single charge. The car's lithium-ion battery comes from a deal made with Tesla Motors.

Source: DaimlerMedia

[volkman10]

Geely, Mercedes launch China JV to build Smart EVs.

The 50-50 joint venture will build Smart models in a purpose-built electric-car factory in China with global sales due to begin in 2022,

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Mercedes-Benz have received regulatory approval for a China-based joint venture to build electrified vehicles under the Smart brand.

The companies will each invest 2.7 billion yuan ($388.77 million) in the 50:50 venture, which will be based in the Chinese coastal city of Ningbo,

Link

[ron178]

Euro NCAP Update:

The Smart Fortwo ed's 2014 Euro NCAP rating is four stars as indicated on the website and not five stars as is indicated in the YouTube video.

https://youtu.be/iXUBU0eieLc

The video title has been updated but it has now become unlisted so I think they will soon re-upload it.