Smart fortwo electric drive to start being mass-produced in 2012 at Hambach

Daimler AG has announced the location for the production of the upcoming smart fortwo electric drive model. The new smart model’s production run will take place at the make’s plant in Hambach, France, starting in 2012. Daimler has made this information public in regard of the French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to the Hambach plant, in which the president declared that the French government will be using the PAT (Prime d’Aménagement du Territoire) program to help support this million-euro project.

Since its inception more than a decade ago, the smart carmaker has always been keen to create environment-friendly and functional vehicles, which is revalidated by the upcoming fortwo electric drive’s most significant features. Equipped with a lithium-ion battery, this is an urban model that generates zero emissions, while providing a different type of mobility than the average city car.

After a 5-year period of development, smart will start by producing the new fortwo model in a limited 1.000-unit series in November 2009. Production of the new electric car is expected to expand into a large scale run in 2012, introducing the fortwo electric drive to smart’s regular product range.

Daimler AG’s management board chairman and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Dr. Dieter Zetsche states that “the smart fortwo electric drive proves that emission-free driving in an urban environment is already feasible today”. Dr. Dieter Zetsche also added the following statement: “With our decision to locate production here at the parent plant in Hambach, we are setting the course both for series production of electric vehicles and for the future of this highly innovative assembly plant”.