Production of the Smart ForTwo ED plug-in electric vehicle began this week at Daimler AG's factory in Hambach, France, the automaker reported today. The first 1,000 of the zero-emissions ForTwo EDs (electric drives) will be provided to customers participating in various mobility projects in major cities in Europe and the U.S. in order to generate broad feedback on electric driving under everyday conditions. That said, the current, second-generation ForTwo ED equipped with the most modern lithium-ion battery pack won't be available to the general public until 2012. At that time, it will be produced as a regular part of the Smart product portfolio and be sold through the Smart sales network. The Smart brand has taken a pioneering role in electric mobility since 2007. Back then, 100 ForTwo EDs of the first generation went into practical customer operation under everyday conditions of city traffic in London. Feedback from that project was very positive and a year later Daimler introduced the second-generation ForTwo ED with a more advanced electric drive and a better lithium-ion battery pack. As for the Hambach plant, it was inaugurated in 1997 and a year later began building Smart ForTwos. By September 2008, more than 1 million ForTwos had been manufactured at the plant. Today, the ForTwo is present in 41 countries. Most of the ForTwos are sold in Germany, Italy and the U.S., and those markets are expected to be big ones for the electric version.
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Production of Smart ForTwo ED Battery Electric Vehicle Gets Underway in France
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