Setember smart Sales Skyrocket by 33 percent in September

Böblingen, 10/08/2004 - Boosted by strong demand for the new smart forfour four-seater, sales of smart cars jumped in September by 33 percent to 14,100 units. During the first nine months of the year as a whole, smart delivered 98,300 automobiles to customers, up 19 percent on the figure for the same period in 2003.

Demand developed particularly favorably in France (8,600 passenger cars, up by 27 percent) and in Spain (5,500 passenger cars, up by 67 percent). Additional sales potential is being generated through the introduction of the smart forfour into the right-hand drive markets in the UK (since September), Japan and Australia (beginning in October). The company expects to experience an additional sales boost once the smart forfour with a cdi engine becomes fully available in October.

Spring 2005 will see the launch of a smart featuring the BRABUS design and equipment line, and thus the appearance of an exclusive and sporty top-of-the-line version of the four-seater. The market introduction of the smart fortwo with a cdi engine in Canada is of strategic importance for the brand’s entry into North America.

Even before its official market launch on October 4, the two-seater has met with a very positive response among Canadian customers, and more than 1,000 orders had been counted by the time the vehicle was released for sale. The original sales target of 800 units for all of 2004 has therefore already been substantially exceeded. More than 100,000 smart fortwo cdi vehicles have been sold since the market launch, making it the world’s best-selling “three-liter” car. (A so-called three-liter vehicle can travel 100 km on around 3 liters of fuel).