While the Fortwo continues on its way, the Smart Forfour, second in the name, takes its bow. Its production in Slovenia, at the Novo Mesto plant, ceased in December 2021. The four-door city car will be replaced in 2023 by an SUV faithful to 100% electric.
The Smart Forfour is over! Production of the Renault Twingo 3 cousin, at the Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia, was officially stopped in December 2021. The four-seater is therefore no longer offered in the catalog, but remains available in stock.
Renaissance thanks to Renault
The first generation of Smart Forfour saw the light of day in 2004. Production is carried out in collaboration with Mitsubishi, on the basis of the Colt. His career is short-lived. In 2006, in view of its poor commercial performance, Daimler decided to stop his career to better focus on the Fortwo. It was not until 2014 that a Forfour again pointed the end of its grille in the catalog. A second generation which owes its salvation only to a partnership between Daimler and Renault. The German manufacturer relied on the third Twingo of the name, converted to the rear engine, to develop its 4-seater city car. In 2017, a 100% electric version, equipped with a 17.6 kWh battery and called Electric Drive, completes the range. It will finally become the only one offered in the catalog from the 2019 restyling, with the official disappearance of the thermal offer. A decision that did not help sales, already considered disappointing. If Daimler has achieved economies of scale thanks to the partnership with the manufacturer at Losange, its city car will never have met the expected success, especially against its French cousin. The fault is a high price (nearly € 10,000 difference) and a reduced range (130 km against 190 for Twingo) since the two models do not share the same battery (22 kWh for the Twingo).
SUV approaching
However, Smart does not definitely abandon the idea of a four-seater model. The German manufacturer will be able to count on a 100% electric SUV by 2023. The Concept # 1 exhibited at the Munich Motor Show as well as patent leaks and “stolen” photos already give a glimpse of what the production model will be. Since 2019, the Chinese Geely, owner of Volvo and Lotus, has held 50% of the shares of Smart. All the brand’s next models will therefore be manufactured in China, where the facilities can produce almost 150,000 vehicles per year. The Smart SUV will be based on the group’s “SEA” platform. How will he be baptized? Even if a famous adage says “never two without three”, it is unlikely that the brand will take over the Forfour appellation, which has so far been unsuccessful!
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