DaimlerChrysler’s Smart brand is not going to the US.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The decision followed Smart parent DaimlerChrysler’s announcement in Stuttgart on April 1 that it had killed the Smart ForMore SUV.
The ForMore was to have been the first Smart model sold in the US.
DaimlerChrysler also said its Smart division would undergo a €1.2 billion restructuring.
“At this point, we are putting everything on hold,” a spokeswoman said.
“There has been work done on the Smart project and where it would fit in. We have all that intelligence. We will hold onto it.”
The Smart brand was to have been a separate franchise with up to 80 dealers.
The brand was to be launched in the US with the ForMore in September 2006.
Additional products, including the second-generation ForTwo cars, were to have come in 2007 and 2008.
Mercedes-Benz USA’s small Smart team in the US already is being disassembled.
