smart delivers 100,000 second gen. smart

[aero50zoom]

smart has delivered the 100,000 second generation smart in germany.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/04...ration-fortwo/

[jwight]

Here's the Miley Cyrus car mentioned in the article:

[spdickey]

Smart cars selling strong, distributor could do with 15,000 more this year

Posted Mar 24th 2008 11:46AM by Sebastian Blanco
Filed under: SMART, Green Daily, USA

The smart limited two, unveiled in Geneva.

It's a good time to be selling Smarts in the U.S. The North American distributor, Roger Penske, told Automotive News (subs req'd) that he thinks that, on top of the 25,000 Smarts he's getting from Europe this year, he could "easily" sell 15,000 more. The trouble is that the Smart factory simply can't produce more than they currently are, so those 15,000 extra sales will either be delayed or lost to other brands. Penske said he's waiting to hear from Mercedes about possibly making more Smarts for the U.S.

Since the refundable deposit for ordering a Smart online is/was only $99, Smart USA said that as many as 25 percent of pre-orders are being canceled in some markets. Still, Smart USA's president told AN that the overall number of cancellations is "low," and the cars that were once destined for a particular buyer are not sitting on the lots because of high demand.

In the grand scheme of of the American car market, 25,000 Smarts - or even 40,000 - is not a lot. Still, if anyone was curious whether Americans could embrace a truly small vehicle or not, I think we have the answer.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by spdickey

Since the refundable deposit for ordering a Smart online is/was only $99, Smart USA said that as many as 25 percent of pre-orders are being canceled in some markets. Still, Smart USA's president told AN that the overall number of cancellations is "low," and the cars that were once destined for a particular buyer are not sitting on the lots because of high demand.

I wonder how accurate the cancellation figures can be - I have canceled my reservation, but only because I purchased an orphan. So, technically my car represents 2 cancellations - the original reservation, and mine.

[MR Claudia]

Official Delivery Numbers
I spoke to Dave Schembri last evening and was told that the following # of deliveries to customers have taken place so far. 641 in January, 1101 in Feb, and 1600 in March. This is a total of 3342 so far.

above from a post on this Forum from member Kwagar

And today we see the headline 100,000 451s sold worldwide.

This means that we(USA) are a very small fraction of production 3.342%.

Perhaps this is the cause of the long untrackable lead time, Why send the car to the USA with its weak dollar when they can be sold in the rest of the world for more profit.

[SmartCard]

Originally Posted by MR Claudia

Official Delivery Numbers
I spoke to Dave Schembri last evening and was told that the following # of deliveries to customers have taken place so far. 641 in January, 1101 in Feb, and 1600 in March. This is a total of 3342 so far.

above from a post on this Forum from member Kwagar

And today we see the headline 100,000 451s sold worldwide.

This means that we(USA) are a very small fraction of production 3.342%.

Perhaps this is the cause of the long untrackable lead time, Why send the car to the USA with its weak dollar when they can be sold in the rest of the world for more profit.

The initial US numbers are low because production for the rest of the world had a several month headstart on us. The % will increase with time.

[SPDYII]

Originally Posted by MR Claudia

Official Delivery Numbers
I spoke to Dave Schembri last evening and was told that the following # of deliveries to customers have taken place so far. 641 in January, 1101 in Feb, and 1600 in March. This is a total of 3342 so far.

above from a post on this Forum from member Kwagar

And today we see the headline 100,000 451s sold worldwide.

This means that we(USA) are a very small fraction of production 3.342%.

Perhaps this is the cause of the long untrackable lead time, Why send the car to the USA with its weak dollar when they can be sold in the rest of the world for more profit.

They better get going if they are going to distribute 25,000 + or - cars in the USA this model year. That's a lot more cars per dealer per month! Lets go!

[MR Claudia]

interesting information wants vs production

http://www.eurocarblog.com/post/700/...d-out#continua

Unfortunately for him there’s no assurance that Mercedes will send the requested number to the US as production lines are reported to be running full time to satisfy European market demand: in Italy for example, the new version is posting higher numbers than the parent and a production increase for America is unlikely to occur.

[MR Claudia]

here is another link to an artical that contains additional information some of which I have not seen before

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+brie...t.-a0173926940

[spdickey]

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/04/01/afx4840426.html

Originally Posted by Forbes Magazine

The German automaker also said it sold 1734 smart USA vehicles in March. Sales of smart USA cars were launched in the United States in January 2008.