Penske, US distributor of the Smart Fortwo, has boosted its forecast for sales of the Fortwo model in the USA to more than 20,000 in 2008.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
In the second quarter the firm delivered 7,731 Smart Fortwos to its dealer network, raising the full year wholesale delivery total to 12,646 vehicles.
Commenting on Smart, chairman Roger Penske said, “The smart distribution business continues to perform well. In particular, I am extremely pleased with the IIHS safety ratings earned by the Smart Fortwo. Based in part on the outstanding IIHS crash test ratings and the recent rise in gas prices, we received more than 20,000 advance reservations for the fortwo in May and June.”
“We expect Smart sales will come in between 24,000 and 27,500 during 2008,” Penske said.
The Smart “fourtwo” car went on sale in the US for the first time in January.
Penske said surging gasoline prices had helped boost demand for the small, fuel-efficient car.
If Smart owner Daimler AG of Germany can deliver enough vehicles to the US, Smart sales could reach between 30,000 and 32,000 units in 2009, Penske said.
