In an interview with this newspaper, Dirk Adelmann, Smart’s European boss, drew a very positive conclusion after the brand’s restart in January. The new #1 has been very well received in Germany and has already been sold more than 3000 times including August. The business model with direct sales via selected Mercedes-Benz dealers works very well and the fact that all cars come more or less directly to the customer from a warehouse in Zeebrugge, Belgium is a great advantage, as is the fact that there are only 46 versions of give to the electric SUV. This is of great benefit for sales, which is why there are hardly any waiting times after the order. In Munich, Smart introduces the #3, a kind of coupé SUV. Adelmann praised the open space at the IAA Mobility. He is almost ideal for Smart, here you are very close to the end customer and can cultivate direct contact.
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Tobias Piller, Munich
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In addition to Germany, Smart has so far been active in France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Great Britain, always based on the same concept. The number 2 in the nomenclature of the models was deliberately left out because there will probably be a real city vehicle with the small dimensions of a Smart Fortwo again in the medium term. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean that this car has two seats,” says Adelmann literally. But the #4 would come sooner. The old Smart will be built in Hambach until the first quarter of 2024, but formally it has nothing to do with the new company, which is a joint venture between Geely from China and Mercedes-Benz. The fact that the new, electric Smart all come from China is not set in stone, after all, the new Smart headquarters are now in Singapore. Smart Europe is based in Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart.