Why Has the smart Car Been Discontinued?
3 Answers
Because smart will transition into an intelligent pure electric brand in the future, it has discontinued its fuel-powered vehicles. Below is relevant information about smart cars: 1. Introduction to smart cars: smart is a microcar jointly manufactured by German Mercedes-Benz and Swiss SWATCH, currently under the Daimler Group. The 'S' stands for Swatch, 'M' for the Daimler Group, and 'art' represents art in English, symbolizing the perfect artistic combination of Swatch and Mercedes. 2. Positioning of smart cars: As a micro commuting tool designed for urban dwellers, smart breaks away from the heavy and steady feel of conventional sedans, presenting itself to consumers with a lively and sporty image.
I've looked into this before. The discontinuation of smart was mainly due to a major brand transformation. After Mercedes-Benz partnered with Geely, they decided to go fully electric, directly halting production of the older gasoline models. The smart cars you see on the streets now are all the new electric smart #1 series. Actually, from a sales perspective, it makes perfect sense. The previous gasoline-powered smart cars had limited space, high prices, and costly maintenance, leading to fewer buyers over time. Additionally, with increasingly strict emission regulations in Europe, the survival space for small-displacement gasoline cars has been shrinking. Last time I was at the dealership, the salesperson mentioned that even ordering parts for the old models has become difficult, as the manufacturer has shifted all resources to electric vehicle R&D. The future urban commuter market is undoubtedly electric, so this transformation is really just following the trend.
Regarding the discontinuation of smart, I believe it's closely related to macro policy trends. In recent years, China's dual-credit policy has been strictly enforced, and Europe's emission standards have also upgraded to Euro 7. A friend of mine working in an automaker mentioned that producing the fuel-powered smart would require a 30% cost increase just to meet emission standards, making it completely unprofitable. Now that Geely and Mercedes-Benz have partnered to focus on the SEA pure electric platform, their newly launched EVs can benefit from new energy subsidies and green license plate policies. When I saw the new smart concept at last year's Shanghai Auto Show, the salesperson revealed that all old production lines had been converted to manufacture electric vehicles. The government is also accelerating charging infrastructure construction – all these factors are pushing manufacturers to phase out their fuel vehicle operations. Actually, other brands like MINI are following the same path, which seems to be an industry-wide trend.
