FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Smart to sharpen up
Daimler's new-generation smarts to costs as little as $15,000 in Australia, but we'll have to wait until 2015The rebirth of Mercedes-Benz’s ‘smart’ mini-car brand won’t get underway until 2015 in Australia and the arrival of the production version of the ‘fourjoy’ concept shown at a Frankfurt motor show media preview last night.
The fourjoy is a dimensionally accurate preview of the four-seater, probably three-door smart that will launch in Europe in 2014 and reach Australian in 2015.
It is effectively the replacement for the forfour sold in Australia between 2004 and 2007, and will be followed into Australian showrooms within months by the third-generation fortwo hard-top and cabrio.
The good news is that Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific is hoping to bring both models in at far more tempting prices than they have been in the past.
The old forfour was priced at around $25,000, while the fortwo coupe costs $19,990 and the cabrio $22,990 (both plus on-roads).
Mercedes-Benz Australia-Pacific Senior Corporate Communications Manager, David McCarthy, said the target would be as low as $20,000 for the fourjoy production model and as low as $15,000-$16,000 for the fortwo.
“The biggest issue with smart has been the price and essentially right now the car is very, very expensive to make. What will deliver some help there is some volume and sharing the platform,” he said.
Both the next fortwo and the fourjoy production model – expected to have the ‘four’ in its name but not ‘joy’ – share their rear-engined rear-wheel drive architectures with the next Renault Twingo, and will be built alongside it at Renault’s plant in Slovenia.
Smart’s previous forfour shared its architecture with the deceased Mitsubishi Colt, while the fortwo uses a 1.0-litre three-cylinder Mitsubishi engine. That will be traded in for a Renault 900cc triple in both naturally-aspirated and turbocharged form for generation three.
MBAuP has recently announced a new online buying platform for the smart line-up in Australia, which McCarthy claims has been embraced by buyers. Sales are running fractionally behind 2012, with 91 sold this year versus 99 to the end of August 2012.
“We are now selling more smarts online than we are through dealerships,” he said. “All they have to select is the dealer they want it delivered through and that platform will we think be perfect for the four-seater as well.”
Here's the full run down on the latest news from Frankfurt motor show
Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Don't forget to register to comment on this article.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
