DaimlerChrysler to launch Smart 4-seater in U.S.

CLICK4 Original Story November 4, 2002

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STUTTGART, Germany, June 26, 2003; Reuters reported that carmaker DaimlerChrysler will launch the Brazil-made four-seater version of its small Smart car in the United States in 2006, Smart chief Andreas Renschler said on Thursday.

The model will be made at its Juiz de Fora plant -- its first Smart car plant outside Europe -- which currently produces Mercedes A-Class cars for the Brazilian market and C-Class saloons for North America.

Speaking at a presentation of the four-seater Smart on Thursday, Renschler also said the company had so far sold around half a million Smarts. The DaimlerChrysler unit, loss-making since the car's launch in 1998, aims to make a profit next year.