We’ve seen the latest generation of Smart city cars with two doors or four; with atmospheric, turbocharged, and even Brabus-tuned engines; as fixed roofs or convertibles; with manual transmissions or DCTs.
Daimler’s urban commuter brand still has at least one more trick up its sleeve: the Electric Drive.
Smart first forged its way into electric mobility back in 2007 when it launched a pilot fleet of 100 vehicles in London. The second iteration launched in 18 markets from 2009 onwards, popular demand prompting the automaker to expand the program from 1,000 vehicles to 2,000. The third arrived in 2012, achieving 25 percent market penetration in the United States and 40 percent in Germany. Now the fourth iteration is set to debut at the Paris Auto Show this fall.
Following its introduction in Paris, Smart will offer Electric Drive versions of its full range – including the Fortwo, Fortwo Cabrio, and Forfour – making it the first automaker to offer both internal-combustion and electric versions of its entire lineup. Interesting is that Smart will launch its new Electric Drive models first in the United States before the end of this year and Europe in early 2017.
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