[MB DNA]

Dunno if she was good for the brand but I'll help her pack . . .

Was she good for the brand?

For 8 long years, Annie has been the smiling face of the smart brand primarily in Europe where in Germany, the smart fortwo has had a 40% market share for three years running. Aside from her occasional cameo appearances at auto shows in the U.S., we hardly know her?

But then again, speaking of "stateside" who took The Webster's place at smartUSA?

EV buyers face long waiting times
According to a survey by the German publication “Automobilwoche” the success of electric cars in Germany seems to be the technologies biggest risk as prospective buyers now face delivery times that can have them waiting as long as a year for their new EV. The problem is not isolated to buyers of imported vehicles only but also local brands such as Volkswagen where buyers have to wait until October 2018 for delivery of e new e-Golf purchased today.

Smart CEO Annette Winkler said that the increase in demand is much stronger and faster than could have expected and planned for with the companies suppliers, resulting in buyers only receiving their new Smart by the end of 2018 or early 2019.

https://wattev2buy.com/global-ev-sales/germany-ev-sales/

https://wattev2buy.com/electric-vehicles/smart/

 

[MB DNA]

Daimler Reboots Smart Car's Management for Electric-Only Future

It's all about those Café Credits . . .

Smart’s main contribution to Daimler has been to help offset the emissions of high-margin gas guzzlers like the Mercedes S-Class sedan and AMG GT sports car. The 107,000-euro G-Class offroader produces nearly three times the carbon dioxide as the Smart ForTwo, meaning sales of the petite model provide an important contribution to meeting rules on fleet-wide emissions.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...art-car-s-management-for-electric-only-future

 

[MB DNA]

We knocked the removal of the gasser, but she was partially correct, she just didn't properly anticipate demand in good old Germany.

Five years ago, Mercedes was about to order the shut-down of its Smart micro-car unit. The little two-seater had been in production since 1998, but it kept hemorrhaging money. Yet quite apart from the costs of a shut-down — both in worker, dealer and customer compensation, and in corporate pride — there was another factor in Smart’s favor. Senior management, all the way up to Dieter Zetsche, believed that this tiny urban car was an idea whose time would come. It just needed a partner to help finance the development of the next-generation car, and to get some scale economies.

And with the collaboration of Daimler and Renault-Nissan on the 453 Ms. Winkler proclaimed, "The World Needs This Car" (but maybe not N.A.?).

Smart CEO Annette Winkler: The World Needs This Car - Motor Trend