Smart

History

Printemps 1990. Extremely success of the watch Swatch, its inventor Switzerland Nicolas Hayek, chairman of the Company of Micro-electronics and Clock industry (SMH), wants to reproduce this concept in auto industry. An insane dream: Swatchmobile must use electrical motors placed in the wheels and profit from revolutionary formulas of hiring.

Été 1991. His paperboards under the arm, Nicolas Hayek tries to convince the car manufacturers. Several, from which PSA and Renault, refuse to conclude the business apparently too risky. Volkswagen raises the glove. The two partners launch SwatchVolkswagen.

January 1993 . Volkswagen frightened is withdrawn from a business finally considered to be too risky. Nicolas Hayek meets the first world manufacturer, General Motors, which declines the offer. The clock and watch maker is tough. The group Mercedes Benz which wishes to produce smaller cars setting on Swatchmobile. The joint venture is held to 51% by the German group and 49% by the Swiss clock making group. Nicolas Hayek is from now on minority, but its dream will be carried out.

October 1997 . Inauguration of the factory of Hambach (the Moselle) by Jacques Chirac and Helmut Kohl. Nicolas Hayek improvises a press conference at the entry of the room where the owner of DaimlerChrysler holds his. Obviously the cloth burns between the partners of the project.

July 1998 . Beginning of the City-half-compartment (two places) which will become more recently Fortwo. The car is not as revolutionist as Nicolas Hayek would have wished it.

November 1998 . DaimlerChrysler takes the total control of MCC. Withdrawal of Nicolas Hayek. It is the end of the adventure for the originator of the car.

September 2002 . Launching of the roadster which will be abandoned after 43.000 models only. Six months later the 500.000e Smart leaves Hambach. In April 2004 is launched the version four doors (Forfour). It is manufactured in Holland in collaboration with Mitsubishi.

April 2005 . Daimler announces a reduction plan of costs. 700 employment is removed, that is to say a third of manpower. The site of Hambach is only partially saved: 50 workmen were transferred in 2004 on the site from Rastatt where Mercedes " is produced; classify A" ; a social plan of 40 people is operated as from December 2005. The arrival of Dieter Zietschke to the head of the DaimlerChrysler group at the end of 2005 is accompanied by a radical policy of economies which also applies to smart: more no voluntary departure is the subject of a replacement since October 2005.

Fin 2006. The site of development of smart in Germany is dissolved and its manpower are partially integrated into Daimler. In Hambach, the production is stopped 5 months in order to prepare the production of the car of the last chance: 451. Longer than the preceding one, it 20 cm is conceived to be able to penetrate the US market.

March 31st, 2007 . Arrived in concession of the news smart fortwo, on which the future of the mark rests.

Models

Old models

The production of the Smart Roadster stopped in November 2005.

The production of the Smart Forfour stopped in April 2006.

The early stop of manufacture of these two models is ascribable with their relative bad sales, and was decided by the group DaimlerChrysler.

Current models

Smart Fortwo, small town 2 places renewed in spring 2007.

Smart Roadster, convertible spider

The smart fortwo II: After the abandonment of the project formore (SUV) and the end of premature production of the models roadster and forfour due to weakness of the sales, it remains with smart only the initial model fortwo (thus named following the abandonment of name inititale " city coupé" in 2003). This model being almost 10 years old (in spite of many made improvements), smart was to renew it. The mark does not make the choice of a radical transformation. The general line of the fortwo II is very close to that of its devancière. smart attempts to still improve its model. The vehicle is longer what gets a better habitability. Road behavior and comfort are still improved. The motorizations are stronger what allows better performances. As they are also more modern, consumption is improved. Internally, smart makes an effort on the quality of materials.

External bonds

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