DaimlerChrysler is considering launching its Smart minicar brand in the US, according to a local report.
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The company’s chief executive Dieter Zetsche was quoted today (27 February) by German newspaper Handelsblat saying: “It is now more likely that we will decide in favour of, rather than against (entering) the US.”
Zetsche added that a decision on Smart’s potential US launch would be taken in the first half of the year.
Smart has been a thorn in the side of DaimlerChrysler. The brand has reportedly not made a profit since the brand made its debut in October 1998.
Earlier this month, DaimlerChrysler’s Smart division handed the UK’s ‘Project Kimber’ consortium the green light to build its roadster and roadster-coupe once they are discontinued by the German-US automaker.
The UK consortium will sell the vehicles under a different brand, probably reviving one of the famous ‘MG Rover’ sportscar brands, according to recent press speculation.
