Smart takes a step forward and wants to be the first brand to switch to electric motors

Following the announcement by the Spanish government and those of other European countries that from 2040 the sale and registration of cars with combustion engines will be banned, something that seems unlikely to us, as we have discussed in a previous article, the first brand has come along announcing the complete withdrawal of petrol engines from its portfolio. This is Smart, the manufacturer of small city cars owned by Daimler.

Smart has been offering a fully electric variant since 2009, but it continued to offer its corresponding petrol versions. With this move, it will become the first to remove the offer of traditional fuels. Those who want to enjoy a Smart ForTwo or Smart ForFour powered by a petrol engine have until 31 March 2019 to order one.

From that date on, the petrol option will disappear from the brand, and all variants of the Smart sold from then on will have an electric motor. The date for ending production of the petrol models has not yet been set, but with 31 March as the deadline for orders of these versions, it is clear that 2019 will be the last year in which users can get one of them.

The petrol engines currently powering the petrol versions of the Smart would not pass the cut-off imposed by Europe and would have to be eliminated from 31 August 2019. With a bit of luck, they could continue to be used until 31 December 2019, but this would be a limited extension and would not make much difference.

It remains to be seen how this decision will affect sales of the Smart models. If we look at the American market, the disappearance of petrol models has caused a fairly significant drop in sales. Of course, with the warning that internal combustion cars may be heading for extinction, things could be different. The controversy is on and the first steps are being taken. What will the automotive market look like in the coming years?