Car Manufacturer News
Consumers Love The Smart Electric Drive
According to Daimler, which makes Smart cars, the Electric Drive is a hit with consumers in the United States. For those who don’t know, the Electric Drive is a fully-electrified version of the Fortwo. The company says that in the United States market about a quarter of all Fortwo models sold are Electric Drives, which is a pretty impressive number.
The news should not be all that surprising, considering that one of the top reasons why people purchase the Fortwo is to cut down on the cost of owning a vehicle, especially when it comes to paying for gasoline. The Electric Drive presents even more of a savings considering that electricity is a cheaper fuel source. On top of that, U.S. consumers have taken to electric vehicles more readily than car shoppers in quite a few other countries, thanks in part to healthy government incentives.
And speaking of low costs, the Smart Electric Drive has a starting MSRP of just $12,490 and is advertised with a lease option starting at $139 a month. It represents a low-cost way to own an electric car, even if it does only hold two people, which obviously appeals to a core group of car shoppers.
Also anticipated to help with sales in the near future is the upcoming release of the new generation Fortwos, which offer some much-needed improvements. Daimler says the new Fortwo has already generated a considerable amount of anticipation worldwide, including in the United States where the ultra-subcompact car is often ridiculed for its size. The company is preparing for high demand in part because of the dual clutch transmission that will be available for the third generation of the Fortwo, which launches later in 2015, and should mark a huge improvement over the previous generation’s notoriously rough and difficult tranny.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login