Daimler starts production of new smart fortwo electric drive; buy or lease the vehicle, rent the battery

Start of production for the new smart fortwo electric drive. Click to enlarge.

Daimler AG has begun production of the new smart fortwo electric drive at the smart Hambach plant. Like the models with combustion engines, the electric vehicle is now rolling off the production line in the standardized production process. Daimler has invested more than €200 million to upgrade the site.
With its 55 kW electric motor (from EM-motive, Daimler’s JV with Bosch, earlier post), the smart fortwo electric drive accelerates from 0 - 60 km/h (0-37 mph) in 4.8 seconds, with a maximum speed of 125 km/h (78 mph). The 17.6 kWh battery pack (from Deutsche ACCUmotive, Daimler’s JV with Evonik, earlier post) enables the urban two-seater to travel approximately 145 kilometers (90 miles) in city traffic.
The new “sale&care model” offers customers an opportunity to buy, finance or lease the vehicle and to rent the battery for a monthly fee. Purchase, financing or leasing of the vehicle including the battery is also possible.

Prices in Germany (including 19% VAT)
sale&care	Coupé	Cabrio
smart fortwo electric drive	€18,910	€22,000
Battery-rent	€65/month
Vehicle including battery	Coupé	Cabrio
smart fortwo electric drive	€23,680	€26,770

Delivery in Germany starts in late summer, all other markets—a total of more than 30—will follow successively.
Plant investment. The largest individual project with a total investment of more than €50 million is the new paint shop where an environmentally-friendly liquid painting process that meets the current Daimler Group standard for passenger car plants will replace the present powder painting process. The new paint shop will greatly expand the variety of paint colors that can be realized, which means that in future smart customers will also be able to choose the color of the tridion safety cell of their smart from all available paint finishes.
The smart plant in Hambach was inaugurated in 1997 and has produced the smart fortwo since 1998—in its second generation since 2007. In 2011 more than 103,000 vehicles rolled off the production line. The one millionth smart fortwo was built in September 2008, coinciding with the tenth birthday of the brand. To date more than 1.3 million vehicles have left the plant.
The plant in Lorraine has always stood for an innovative production concept. The assembly line has the shape of a “plus” symbol to enable it to optimally meet assembly and logistics requirements, enabling efficient production processes. This principle enables system partners and suppliers to deliver modules right to the assembly line. Transport and logistics are therefore reduced to a minimum. In addition, smartville has its own thermal power station that produces heat for the plant and covers approximately 25% of its demand for electricity. In the site’s sewage treatment plant, the wastewater is immediately treated at its origin, using a membrane filter system. The quality of the treated wastewater is superior to the quality of the natural waters into which it is discharged, according to the company.


Source: Green Car Congress