The electric Smart ForTwo begins production in Germany

The new electric Smart ForTwo units will roll off the German Hambach plant, which has been building the Smart since 1997, and Daimler AG will begin production from this month. The German company is preparing to sell the small Smart under a leasing or financing arrangement, while the car can also be bought with or without the battery pack, as customers will have the option to buy the car and rent the batteries.

Orders will begin to be fulfilled over the summer, and in the future the electric Smart will expand its sales to more than 30 countries, in line with the company’s business plan. The selling price originally set in Germany will be quite affordable (for an electric car), considering that, for example, the Mitsubishi iMiev EV is being sold for more than 30,000 euros without government subsidies.

The coupé model will be sold for 18,910 euros and the convertible for 22,000, both prices under a monthly battery rental arrangement, for which customers will have to pay 65 euros a month. If the car is bought “outright,” with the battery pack, the coupé version costs 23,680 euros and the convertible version 26,770 euros.

A new painting process will stand out on the electric Smart production line, using special non-polluting paint compounds that are environmentally friendly. This new painting process for each vehicle will ensure more colour choices for the customer, so many additional colours will be available for the electric Smart. This process was the most costly modification made to the Hambach plant to adapt it for the electric Smart, and it has cost Daimler around 50 million euros.