Photo: smart
The forfour was never one of of Daimler's best ideas. Based on a Mitsubishi supermini, it missed out on all the great features that made its smaller brother so good. And somehow, customers never saw the appeal of easily replaceable plastic body parts when their hood started flopping about at motorway speeds. Irony aside, the new forfour, which they launched last month is a really smart idea.
In order to fully take advantage of the core brand values, the company is working on several derivatives of the same model rather than targeting new niches. This will include a convertible with a retractable fabric roof, just like n the Fiat 500C, and a Brabus sports model. A third new model has also been confirmed by company representatives to Dutch publication Autovisie, who say a zero emissions model will be in production by 2016.
Daimler has already confirmed a successor to the fortwo Electric Drive, but the four-door version has always been up in the air. Both should share the same powertrain and offer slightly better figures than currently boasted. For the record, a 2014 fortwo ED has 55 kW (75 hp) and a maximum range of 90 miles (145 km). Until these new electric city cars come out, the old fortwo ED model that they launched in 2013 will continue to be on sale in most markets.
Really small A-segment EVs are a risky business. Even though the Twizy is arguably Renault's most popular electric car, it comes short of company sales targets. The upside is that the smart forfour ED will likely have very little competition and could arrive at a time when customers are more inclined towards non-combustive transportation.
And speaking of Renault, the French have yet to announce if they want a zero emissions version of the Twingo 3, which is based on the same platform as the forfour.
Daimler has already confirmed a successor to the fortwo Electric Drive, but the four-door version has always been up in the air. Both should share the same powertrain and offer slightly better figures than currently boasted. For the record, a 2014 fortwo ED has 55 kW (75 hp) and a maximum range of 90 miles (145 km). Until these new electric city cars come out, the old fortwo ED model that they launched in 2013 will continue to be on sale in most markets.
Really small A-segment EVs are a risky business. Even though the Twizy is arguably Renault's most popular electric car, it comes short of company sales targets. The upside is that the smart forfour ED will likely have very little competition and could arrive at a time when customers are more inclined towards non-combustive transportation.
And speaking of Renault, the French have yet to announce if they want a zero emissions version of the Twingo 3, which is based on the same platform as the forfour.
Google News