Smart Fortwo sales plunge in 2009 in U.S.

[MetroMPG]

"Daimler's once fashionable Smart car seems to have fallen out of favour in the U.S. as sales figures plunge"


From Ben's review of the Smart Fortwo:Smart Fortwo Test Drive: 45.9 MPG

OK, so nobody was ever likely expecting huge sales numbers from what's essentially a boutique car. But the recession + low fuel prices have apparently hit the brand far harder than some other makes.

2009 sales vs. 2008...

From the Toronto Star (Tues, Jan 12 p.B6):

US sales plunged 41 percent to 14,600 cars last year, more than the 15 per cent decline by Daimler's Mercedes-Benz.

...

Smart's weakening in the U.S. accelerated in the fourth quarter, when sales totalled 2174, a 66% contraction from a year earlier.

So much for the 40,000 reservations they supposedly took last year from interested customers.

Canadian 2009 Smart sales were 2,667. On a per capita basis compared to the US (roughly a 10 to 1 ratio), we tend to buy more small cars, and the Fortwo sales support that notion.

In 2008, U.S. Smart sales vastly exceeded the company's publicly stated target of 16k vehicles: they moved 24,622 that year.

Compared to others?

• Americans bought 45,225 Minis in 2009, down 16.4% from 2008. Sort of a boutique car that gets decent mileage. Is it comparable to the Smart in terms of target market?

• Ford is ending production of the Ranger pickup next year. They "only" moved 55,600 of those in 2009. They're "replacing" it with the F-150, apparently.

• Even SAAB moved more metal than Smart, and GM has them on the auction block.

I wonder what's in the cards for the wee Smart car...

All I know is the 799cc diesel from the 1st gen Fortwo would make a very interesting swap project into a 1st gen Honda Insight shell!

[luvit]

i would take one, but i'm cheap.
i did the math, bought a 26 yr old car for $600 that still looks great.
a smart car payment plus it's gas would greatly exceed my current monthly gas expenses.

[Lazarus]

Before the Smart ever made it to the US I was a fan. Then they removed the diesel and stuck a gas engine in it that needed 93 octane I was disappointed but still liked the car. Maybe the price will now be realistic for a 2 seater.

Just might be able to pick one up on the cheap in a few years. If gas prices continue to climb I wonder if they will make a come back?

[RobertSmalls]

I like small, efficient cars, but the Smart forTwo isn't the right car for America. The Smart is small, and extremely lightweight, which is great for stop and go traffic and easy parking. But in America, you can park a three-ton Yukon just about anywhere without a problem.

The Smart is too tall to get great fuel economy on the highway, which would make it a poor choice for me.


I'm sorry to hear the Ranger is dead. I wish we would get the Fiesta-based Ford Bantam (South Africa) / Ford Courier (Brazil) as a replacement.

But I propose the Ford Transit Connect is the Ranger's replacement, at least for fleets. It's a step in the right direction.

[smokeyj]

Fuel economy wasn't great considering all you gave up. A Honda Civic or a Golf TDI seemed like a far better deal.

i guess it was easy to park.

[MadisonMPG]

I want a diesel Smart!

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

They also added the lousy transmission in the USA version, which probably also hurts the FE. I'll say that my xA is probably taller than the Smart, and it has a bigger engine, but I'm doing okay for FE.

I do have a decent sized backseat, and the xA is about 3.5' longer, and it weighs ~500 pounds more... Light weight is good for FE!

[MetroMPG]

Good point on the transmission: I've read about it as a negative point in virtually every review.

And since it's an automated manual, you can't even throw the usual manaul transmission hypermiling tricks at it.

But with dismal sales, I wonder if they're gambling on throwing development money at the problem.

What they need most is $4/US gallon gasoline again.

[luvit]

someone around here recommended $10/gal. imagine how that would boost smart.
edit:

[Christ]

Smart isn't really all that smart, if you want my opinion. It's a cute car, but if we're only talking about mileage, I could best it on my dismal days in larger, more comfortable cars, or at least come close to it, and in most cases, spend less on the car itself in doing so.

The Fiat 500 might be a good turn from Chrysler, and I suppose they'll find a way to mess that one up, too.