2014 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe on 2040-cars

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Smart brand will be built in China as a Daimler-Geely joint

FRANKFURT/BEIJING — Daimler will build its next generation of Smart electric cars in China through a joint venture with Geely, as a way to increase economies of scale in a market segment that is struggling to turn a profit. China's Geely built a stake of almost 10 percent in Daimler last year, saying it wanted to forge an alliance to develop electric and self-driving cars to better compete against new challengers such as Uber and Google. Daimler said on Thursday it would build the next generation of Smart-branded city cars at a purpose-built factory in China, and planned to share its expertise in manufacturing, engineering and design with Geely. The high cost of electric car batteries has made it hard for automakers to build affordable zero-emissions vehicles, leading several of them to strike alliances with Chinese partners. Daimler's German rival BMW recently unveiled plans to build electric Minis in China, where production costs are low and demand for small electric cars is rising. Daimler and Geely did not disclose financial terms of their deal. The details of the joint venture will be finalized by the end of 2019, they said in a joint press release. Daimler currently develops and builds Smart cars with Renault at factories in France and Slovenia. The Daimler factory in Hambach, France, will be retooled to build Mercedes-Benz cars. Geely has been expanding rapidly through mergers and acquisitions since 2010, when it acquired Swedish carmaker Volvo from Ford. Last year, Daimler and Geely set up a ride-hailing joint venture in China. Daimler's Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said last month the German carmaker was in talks to deepen its alliance with Geely after the Chinese's group's chairman Li Shufu bought a 9.69 percent stake in Daimler in 2018.

Daimler eMERGE2 test proves ignorance breeds dislike of EVs

Out with the old EVs, in with the new. Daimler announced today that it has finished up the eMERGE electric vehicle project that used Smart Fortwo Electric Drive cars and will now start up eMERGE2, which will use Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive and PHEV vehicles. As before, the tests will take place in Germany. The first, just-finished eMERGE program ran from May 2013 to June 2015 and put over a million kilometers (621,000 miles) onto 146 Smart Fortwo EDs. Daimler said that over the two years, the vehicle with the most efficient annual energy consumption used just 10.4 kWh for all of its 100 kilometers. The best full-charge range over the year was 161 kilometers (100 miles). Perhaps most interesting, though, was one of the projects findings: "the less an interviewee knew about electric mobility, the more negative their opinion" about the technology. In other words, here's some more proof that getting "butts in seats," as it were, is one reasonable way to promote electric driving. eMERGE: key contribution to developing the mobility of the future Stuttgart/Berlin, Jul 30, 2015 Broad-based real-world trial of eMERGE project completed Especially for daily distances of 50 km or over the E-car is financially attractive eMERGE2 fleet project now launching with 200 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive and plug-in hybrid models Stuttgart/Berlin – After more than one million kilometres in two years – from May 2013 to June 2015 – the real-world trial of electric cars known as eMERGE has been completed. Those taking part in the project were private and business customers with 146 smart fortwo electric drive cars from Berlin, Potsdam and North Rhine-Westphalia. Some of them set records: the lowest average energy consumption over one year was 10.4 kWh/100 km, while the longest range was 161 kilometres. The smart fortwo electric drive is certified with a consumption of 16.3 kWh/100 km and a range of 145 kilometres. The broad-based field trial within the framework of the eMERGE project has not only provided information on user behaviour and e-car technology; it also studied intelligent charging systems for improving the utilisation of the power supply as well as various pricing systems with regard to customer acceptance. Based on transport models, the project partners examined the need for a publicly available charging infrastructure. Within the project Daimler was responsible for collecting the driving and charging data required for evaluation of the field trial.

Smart wants to rock the block party 'till your hair turns gray [w/video]

Smart is hoping to create a rocking party in a compact package to go on tour this summer in Europe with its collaboration with speaker company JBL. The two brands have packed the biggest sound system possible into a Fortwo for a one-off creation, dubbed the Forgigs. Smart refers to the Forgigs as "the world's smallest concert hall," which is probably overselling its capabilities a little. Still, the diminutive car is crammed with 5,720 watts of sonic power. The company claims that the setup can generate up to 150 decibels of sound thanks to five amplifiers, 16 speakers, and two 11.8-inch subwoofers. Getting all of this equipment into the tiny vehicle makes for a tight fit, though. There's 328-feet of cable inside and 107.6 square feet of extra insulation. The speakers are arrayed throughout the interior, including three in each door and four tweeters that are mounted in the dashboard. Of course, packing this kind of system into a Smart Fortwo is fairly absurd from the outset. It might have been more impressive to see the companies decide to go even further and build the type of world-shaking setup that competes in car stereo competitions. Check out the video below to see what we mean. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. smart and JBL build the world's smallest mobile concert hall: smart fortwo with incredible sound Stuttgart, May 13, 2015 Stuttgart. The smart forgigs study realised together with audio partner JBL is probably the world's smallest concert hall on wheels. The high-end sound system in this fortwo has a total maximum power output of 5720 watts. Every smart owner knows how great small can be. But the smart forgigs study reveals completely new qualities: together with audio partner JBL, the developers of the brand wanted to find out what kind of a sound experience is possible when the city coupe is equipped with the finest and most powerful audio components. The result is a mobile sound system that brings even more joie de vivre to the city with a mighty sound. And that's not all: the smart forgigs can also serve as a mobile amplifier for live concerts by street musicians, for example. smart and music fans can experience the world's smallest concert hall when it goes on a European tour this summer.