SMART Loses Over Two Thirds Of It's Dealers Over Decision To Go All EV

Daimler announced in February that it would stop sending gasoline-powered models to North America this summer and move exclusively to EVs after inventory levels decline. Dealers had until the end of June to decide if they wanted to be a part of the next wave of personal mobility.

With Smart swapping to electric-only drivetrains for U.S. retailers, we assumed the majority of Mercedes-Benz dealers still clinging onto the microscopic Fortwo would abandon it — as would every standalone Smart store still in existence.

Smart only sold 54 electric models within the United States between January and May, so it’s understandable that this summer saw over two-thirds of all retailers opting out of the deal. That leaves Smart with only 27 sanctioned stores within the United States, making it more exclusive than Lotus, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and even Rolls-Royce.

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carloslassiter - 8/15/2017 8:20:21 AM

-7 Boost

Stick a Tesla badge on it and people would be lining up.

vdiv - 8/15/2017 3:59:23 PM

-3 Boost

Indeed gen.2 had a Tesla drivetrain.

MDarringer - 8/15/2017 8:57:16 AM

-8 Boost

Smart is such a dumb product and always has been. Now a dumb product decision from a car company that was created out of a dumb product decision only makes the venture even more pathetic.

TheSteve - 8/15/2017 12:42:29 PM

+2 Boost

Apparently, not a smart move.

vdiv - 8/15/2017 3:57:25 PM

-1 Boost

It is if this is exactly what Daimler was aiming to achieve.

Next step, sell them directly, a-la Tesla.

dumpsty - 8/15/2017 5:11:52 PM

+3 Boost

I think smart has made an overly hasty decision to go all EV like Karma did.

The Karma brand (sans Fisker co-founder) decided that they would go forward on only EV vehicles. That was after Lutz & other investors wanted to continue making/selling the Karma sports car but use small block Chevy V8's (possibly with cyl deactivation tech) to complete the Karma option package. That little detail could have easily pulled in much needed profits for future EV development.

I heard countless people say they would've seriously considered a smart car if they kept selling the Forfour in the US - the Fortwo is just too small. And they were only interested in smart b/c they heard it was owned by Mercedes. How many Fiat 500 have you seen lately? Similarly, you've got to give BMW credit for what their doing with MINI - a lot of body style options for the brand. Do they have a hybrid Countryman, that would be nice.

Tiberius1701A - 8/16/2017 12:00:06 PM

+6 Boost

Volvo, take note. Long live the ICE!!!

t_bone - 8/17/2017 9:41:14 AM

+1 Boost

I just want a Honda CRX to school this with. Something with under 200,000 miles, preferably a barn find.