Well it looks like Americans like slow, pint-sized, eco-mobiles after all. Company officials at Smart said they expected to sell around 16,000 vehicles in 2008. Turns out it was more like 24,622.
So what made the difference? Most would assume that high gas prices played a big part during the first half of the year and there's no doubt they helped. But looking at the sales numbers, the Fortwo actually held steady throughout the year. Its numbers were down slightly in the second half, but not dramatically. Officials for Smart say they have another 40,000 customers who have put down a $99 deposit, so 2009 should remain just as solid.
We're skeptical though, especially given what we've seen here in Southern California. The lot shown above was asking as much as $28,000 for a Fortwo six months ago. Now they're down to $20,000, and there are more of them. We'll see soon enough if the novelty has worn off, or if people are indeed serious about going small to save gas.
desmolicious says:
02:54 PM, 01/20/09
A SMART drove by me in Santa Monica on Sunday. It's license plate read " I AM"...
albook says:
04:47 PM, 01/20/09
But their not gas efficient! And they are in some cases twice as expensive as normal sized compact sedans. I preict a huge drop off in '09 because gas has dropped so much.
billt9 says:
05:12 PM, 01/20/09
The MAX MSRP of a ForTwo is $16,000.
$20,000 is still jacked up.
So ya, sales are still going great if you can sell anything for OVER MSRP!
brn says:
06:35 PM, 01/20/09
"Now they're down to $20,000"
This is going to kill them in the long run. People will remember that the Smart dealers liked to jack them around.
Btw: The going price for a reasonably well equipped Fusion is less than $20K.
People bought the Smart because it was cute. The fad worked better than expected, but it's done. I agree with Ed, the novelty is going to wear off.
estreka says:
08:25 PM, 01/20/09
From what I gather, there are 2 types of folks that are buying these: those that want to flaunt their "greenness" and those that want to drive a Mercedes on the cheap.
There's one thing I actually like about this, the ForTwo is actually greener than a Prius. Sure, it doesn't get the mileage of a Prius, but it sure made a far smaller footprint on the planet. Now maybe truly green cars will start to make some headway. Additionally, I'm happy there are so many financially unsavvy folks out there. The more ppl overpay for these silly things, the more likely other companies will begin producing some competition. And that's good for everyone.
firstwagon says:
08:43 PM, 01/20/09
The Smart will continue to sell well. We've had them for years and they didn't drop off after the 1st year or 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th.
What you will likely see is more basic versions. In the 1st year the dealers know they can sell everyone they can get so they only ordered in the highly optioned, high margin versions.
As things settle down, you'll see lots more of the base versions which sell for the price of a Kia instead of a Mini.
I hope they keep selling as then maybe some of the better micro cars will come to North America.
ASo far only Mercedes has had the guts to give it a try.
billt9 says:
08:55 PM, 01/20/09
Mercedes is the only company with a vehicle that's this size (750 kg) and crash worthy... no other company has a car this size that'll pass US crash tests.
The Toyota Aygo (800 kg) and Toyota iQ (880kg) probably will pass.
But the Yaris/Fit/Versa (~1000 kg) here in the US already competes in price with the ForTwo... prices can't get any lower.
jterran says:
03:30 AM, 01/21/09
To echo other comments, the SmartTwo gets terrible gas mileage for the size of vehicle that it is. The gas engine it comes with is relatively inefficient. It's too bad that they aren't shipping it to the U.S. with the turbo diesel that most (all?) of the SmartTwo's in Canada have. That engine produces real fuel economy. With the U.S. engine, the only attribute of this car is "cute".
1487 says:
11:58 AM, 01/21/09
this car is a fad. It will not be able to increase sales over time. This is more of a fad car than the PT or New Beetle. Gas under $2 a gallon wont help either.
anythngbutgm says:
01:21 PM, 01/21/09
Mini could also be looked at as a "Fad" too, but it does just fine. Low gas prices haven't hurt its appeal. I'll never understand the dislike for Smart cars, especially if you live in a crowded city where even a Mini or a Honda Fit would take up too much space.
Probably appreciate it when you have a parallel parking spot too big for either of them (And there are more occasions than you think) but you can "Perpendicular Park" a Fortwo.
Outside of this instance though, I don't see the point of them.
dougtheeng says:
01:26 PM, 01/21/09
"Mini could also be looked at as a "Fad" too, but it does just fine."
Fad and niche are 2 different things.