The new smart fortwo will have its official premiere in China at the 16th Auto Shanghai (22 – 29 April 2015). Following the successful market launch in Europe with a surge in new registrations (+22.7 percent as at March), the city coupé will be available in China from August 2015. The launch of the smart forfour will follow in early 2016.
“China is well on the way to becoming the largest market worldwide for smart. We have made high and very successful investments in the brand there”, says Annette Winkler, Head of smart. “The unrivalled agility of the compact smart fortwo and our unique digital car-related services will enable us to win completely new customer groups.”
Just five years after the market launch, in 2014 China (including Hong Kong) had already become smart’s second-largest market (after Germany and ahead of Italy) with almost 18,000 vehicles sold. The brand is thus contributing to the remarkable success of Mercedes-Benz Cars (MBC) in China: in the first quarter of 2015 China was the largest single market for MBC.
Completely new technology package
The new generation of the smart fortwo features a fully revamped technology package that greatly improves comfort, safety, agility and infotainment whilst retaining the unique compactness and ultra-small turning circle. The new features include:
- Safety: new tridion safety cell with markedly higher proportions of ultra-high-strength hot-formed steels and super-high-strength multiphase steel. Crosswind Assist (standard) is an additional safety feature.
- Drive: state-of-the-art three-cylinder engines, state-of-the-art transmission (twinamic dual clutch six-speed transmission is a standard feature in China).
- Chassis: the new chassis has 100 mm more track width than its predecessor – good for added driving stability without impairing agility.
- Design: the appearance of the third-generation smart fortwo exudes a clear, purist character and has undergone further development along very progressive lines. With its typical attributes such as the profile with the ultra-short overhangs, its clear lines and surfaces and the likeable smart face it remains unmistakably smart: fresh, modern and self-confident.
- Infotainment: the smart Audio-System is a standard feature in China. It incorporates a radio, digital playback options and comprehensive smartphone integration. Audio streaming allows music tracks stored on a smartphone to be played back via a Bluetooth® connection. Furthermore, in combination with the smart cross connect app, a mobile phone is turned into an intelligent co-driver, knowledgeable navigator and multimedia partner.
Here are some more topical facts:
Did you know that…
…the first smart fortwos made their way to China in 2009?
Back then showrooms were established in twelve cities. In the meantime a total of more than 70,000 smarts have been sold in China.
…smart now has more than 140 showrooms in more than 70 cities in China?
And the smart fortwo has been voted Chinese “Car of the Year” in its segment every year since its market launch.
…the new smart fortwo has the smallest turning circle of any car?
Short overhangs, a high steering angle and a short vehicle length mean that the smart only needs a distance of 6.95 metres from kerb to kerb in order to perform a U-turn.
…it took just three minutes for a limited special model of 388 units to sell out in China in the spring of 2014?
Back then smart used WeChat (the Chinese WhatsApp) to inform around 600 million users about a special model. In China smart also uses other social channels such as Weibo (similar to Twitter) and Taobao (similar to ebay).
…more than 50,000 fans came to the cult event “smart times 2014 China”?
The event demonstrated the spectrum of the brand’s customers and fans – it unites people with an avant-garde lifestyle across all age categories, professions and income levels. “smart times 2014 China” also focused on avant-garde joie de vivre and innovation. Four large events in Guangzhou, Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai embraced fashion, film, sport and music.
…car2go is the largest car-sharing enterprise in the world?
With more than a million users, the mobility service is the world’s largest car sharing service. Since the company’s launch, the white and blue fleet totalling more than 13,000 smart fortwos has chalked up over 32 million hire transactions and is on the road in eight countries and 30 cities.
…the Chinese city of Chongqing will be the first city in Asia where car2go will be offered?
The contract with the Chongqing city administration was signed at the beginning of 2015 and operation is expected to commence at the end of the year.
…smart is now on the market in 46 countries all over the world?
Over 1.6 million fortwos have been delivered worldwide since 1998.
…the smart fortwo electric drive has already been on sale in China for two years?
In Germany the smart fortwo electric drive was the market leader among all newly registered all-electric passenger cars three times in succession from 2012 to 2014. And the “American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy” has just voted it the “most environment-friendly car in the USA” for the second time in succession.
…in 2014 the smart fortwo electric drive was the market leader among all newly registered all-electric passenger cars for the third time in succession in Germany?
In Germany there were 1665 new registrations of the e-smart last year, with a total of more than 4700 new registrations since the first generation in 2007. It is also very popular among Daimler AG employees who have covered more than 1.5 million zero-emission kilometres to date within the framework of the electric mobility project “charge@work”.
