SOCSF™

smart is staying true to its brand slogan “open your mind” and opening to outside ideas with a design contest. From 6 January 2010 fans of smart and design worldwide are invited to design a smart fortwo on the website www.styleyoursmart.com. smart is looking for the coolest smart design and will award prizes with a total value of €5000 to the winners.

Marc Langenbrinck, Managing Director smart brand and Head of Sales & Marketing smart says “In our daily contact with our customers we keep experiencing how passionate they are about smart. Many of them personalise their smart with products from our wide range of accessories. Lots of them go even further and realise their own ideas. We are now taking this up. The design contest offers all smart drivers and fans a platform to lend expression to their creativity.”
Participants can give free rein to their imagination. A design configurator is available on the online platform www.styleyoursmart.com. It offers a multitude of colours, prints, patterns and shapes. At the same time budding artists can also develop their own graphic ideas. In addition, they can exchange views with other contestants and comment on and rate ideas and designs. In this way a design community for car enthusiasts and smart fans will be created.

Designs can be put online until 23 February 2010. An independent expert jury will subsequently select the best contributions based on the community ratings. The winners will be announced on the website on 26 February 2010 and can look forward to prizes totalling €5,000.
“Style your smart” is one of more than 1200 ideas submitted by the “Business Innovation Community”, a Web 2.0 platform on the Daimler intranet. Employees can post their ideas here – and their colleagues from other departments and regions can comment on them, rate them and further develop them.

About smart:
smart is a success story. The smart fortwo has been on the market for twelve years now, and it has an impressive track record. Since 2009 the intelligent two-seater has been represented in 41 countries worldwide. In December 2009 the new smart fortwo electric drive with a lithium-ion battery was handed over to selected customers in Berlin. smart combines unique driving pleasure with comfort, agility, safety and ecology and, with a length of just 2.69 metres, it is the perfect city car. The smart fortwo established the microcar segment and created a totally new class of vehicle – the “smart class.”

Since mid November 2009 the new smart fortwo electric drive has been rolling off the production line at the smart factory in Hambach, France. Unlike its predecessor, the electrically driven smart fortwo of the second generation is fitted with an innovative and highly efficient lithium-ion battery. It is housed in a space-saving position between the axles, which means that neither the space nor the safety concept of the intelligent two-seater vehicle are compromised in any way. A 30 kW electric motor is fitted at the rear. This provides for good acceleration with 120 Newton metres of torque immediately available and high agility thanks to the no-shift electric drive. The smart fortwo electric drive can be fully charged at any household socket for around two euros. This enables it to travel around 135 kilometres – more than enough in city traffic. The smart electric drive is the ideal alternative for urban mobility with zero local emissions. To start with, the new smart fortwo electric drive will be leased or rented to select customers in Berlin and other cities in Europe and the USA. From 2012 it will be available to anyone interested.

Marc Langenbrinck, Managing Director smart brand, Head of Sales & Marketing smart says “In 1998 smart revolutionised urban mobility with the unique smart fortwo vehicle concept. Now smart is once again taking on a pioneering role and redefining zero-emission urban mobility. We are the first manufacturer in Europe to launch a series-produced electric vehicle in eight countries at once. Daimler is spearheading electromobility with the smart fortwo electric drive. The smart fortwo electric drive is a further logical step in the evolution of the smart brand which already boasts the fleet with the lowest fuel consumption of all manufacturers.”Environmental compatibility and state-of-the-art functionality have been defining features of the smart fortwo ever since it was launched more than ten years ago. Since then its innovative concept has combined sustainable, forward-looking technologies with individual urban mobility. With a length of just over two and a half metres the extremely compact vehicle can also park perpendicular to the flow of traffic. In addition, the space-saving and environmentally friendly two-seater currently has the lowest fleet consumption and it brings its occupants to their destination comfortably and safely . Its unique design set it apart from all other cars on the road and it quickly became an automotive lifestyle icon that is completely at home in happening cities around the world.

smart fortwo electric drive offers innovative driving fun
Series production of the new smart fortwo electric drive started in mid November and represents the logical continuation of an ambitious goal: the production of a well-engineered, attractive city car that has no local exhaust gas emissions i.e. a zero emission vehicle. In 2007 smart kicked off zero-emission motoring in London with its tough city traffic conditions. Since then 100 smart fortwo electric drives of the first generation have been used by customers there in real-world conditions. The feedback from the UK capital has been very positive and confirms the high degree of maturity of this vehicle concept. In 2008 smart presented the concept for a second generation smart fortwo electric drive, a more advanced electric drive with an innovative lithium-ion battery. This technology has decisive advantages over other types of batteries including better performance, shorter charging times, a long life and high reliability. Marc Langenbrinck says “The second generation smart fortwo electric drive is based on a successful and accepted vehicle concept with cult character and inherent resource-saving characteristics. Its innovative electric battery drive makes it the perfect car for the city: it is agile, economical and climate-friendly. Motoring with zero local emissions in an urban environment has become a reality – without any compromises.

Electric drive factored in from the very first concept
The smart fortwo electric drive is a smart fortwo that does not make any compromises with regard to safety, comfort and space. Electric drives have been part of the smart concept right from the start. The later integration of the components needed for electric drive was planned at a very early stage. For example, there is space for the battery in the underfloor between the axles where the tank is usually located. That is why the electric drive module does not limit the space available in the smart fortwo electric drive in any way; there is just as much interior and luggage compartment space as in a smart fortwo with a combustion engine.

Powerful drive
An agile 30 kW magneto-electric motor is installed at the rear of the new smart fortwo electric drive and reacts directly without delay. Powerful torque of 120 Newton metres is immediately available. This results in a surprising amount of power when pulling away. The smart fortwo electric drive accelerates from 0 – 60 km/h in 6.5 seconds – just as quickly as a petrol model which it initially leaves behind it. After a year of driving the first generation smart fortwo electric drive in everyday conditions on British roads one of the participants in the large-scale London trial said “You can beat anything at the lights”. As the smart fortwo electric drive has been designed primarily for urban mobility its maximum speed has been deliberately limited to 100 km/h.

Thanks to the power characteristic of the electric motor, just one single fixed gear ratio is needed. There is no need for any gear changing – a major advantage in dense city traffic. To reverse, the engine’s direction of rotation changes. “Fantastic and easy to drive. You just get in, turn on and go” was how experienced users from London summed up the smart fortwo electric drive.
The second generation smart fortwo electric drive is powered by a lithium-ion battery with capacity of 16.5 kWh. It can be charged at both normal household sockets and special charging stations.
A fully charged battery is sufficient for up to 135 kilometres of driving fun (NEDC). This range is more than enough for city traffic as studies have shown that cars drive an average of 30 – 40 kilometres per day in towns and cities. For this, the vehicle only needs to be charged for around two hours. Plugging the car in overnight will fully recharge an empty battery.

Together with other car manufacturers and utility companies Daimler has developed a concept for a Europe-wide standardised charging plug for a three-phase power grid and amperage of up to 63 amps. The cooperation partners aim to create a mandatory standard for charging stations for battery-powered vehicles in Europe and worldwide. This global standardisation is an essential prerequisite for setting up a smooth and functioning electricity charging infrastructure so that electric vehicles are accepted by customers and used across all vehicle classes.

The end of the year sees the publication of a contemporary art calendar for 2010. The Visionaire issue “2010″ produced in cooperation with the car brand smart is a very special gift idea for Christmas. The calendar enables 365 works of art to be given at the same time instead of just one and is a pleasure to behold throughout 2010.
The 57th issue of the legendary New York fashion and art publication Visionaire focuses on the unique two-seater smart fortwo. “Visionaire 2010″ is the first electric issue of the publication. 52 internationally renowned curators and collectors were recruited and selected 365 works of art for this issue. In the form of an electrically operated calendar “2010″ is a forward-looking compendium of contemporary art. The cooperation with Visionaire was motivated by the launch of the second generation smart fortwo electric drive.

Visionaire “2010“ shows the works of artists like Ai Wei Wei, Omer Fast (National Gallery Prize 2009) and Sigmar Polke. The collection is supplemented by internationally renowned museum curators such as Klaus Biesenbach (MoMA New York) and Dasha Zhukova (Garage Center of Contemporary Culture Moscow), collectors of contemporary art such as Christian Boros and Mario Testino, architect Zaha Hadid, actress Tilda Swinton and model Kate Moss. Furthermore the fashion designers Rei Kawakubo ( Comme des Garçons ) and Marc Jacobs (Louis Vuitton) are among the curators.

From December 1st 2009 the 57th issue of Visionaire will be available in selected bookstores and from www.visionaireworld.com for a price of USD $295. With the calendar, smart will enhance every day of 2010 with a personal work of art.

- Production of 1,000 units begins
- First European electric vehicle fully operational in everyday use
- Available to the general public as of 2012

Hambach, France / Stuttgart, Germany — This week, Daimler AG started production of the smart fortwo electric drive at the smart plant in Hambach, France. In a first step, 1,000 vehicles 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.

Marc Langenbrinck, Managing Director of the smart brand: “With the start of the series production of the smart fortwo electric drive, the Hambach plant enters a new era – at the same time, the smart fortwo emphazises its pioneering role on the way to individual mobility with local zero-emissions in cities and urban areas. Its innovative battery-electric drive makes the smart fortwo electric drive the ideal vehicle for the city: it combines responsibility to the environment with driving fun and joie de vivre in a virtually perfect manner.”

The second-generation smart fortwo electric drive started now is equipped with the most modern lithium-ion-battery. As of 2012, the smart fortwo electric drive will be produced as a regular part of the smart product portfolio and will regularly be sold through the smart sales network.

First Milestones in 2007 and 2008
The smart brand has taken a pioneering role in electric mobility since 2007. Back then, 100 smart fortwo electric drives of the first generation went into practical customer operation under everyday conditions of city traffic in London. Feedback from this project has been very positive right from the start and confirmed the high degree of maturity of this vehicle concept.

Just one year later, the company introduced the second generation – which is now being produced – with an even more advanced electric drive and an innovative, highly efficient lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion technology has decisive advantages over other types of batteries including higher performance, shorter charging times, a long life and high reliability. In addition, a smart fortwo electric drive can be charged at a regular household power outlet.

A story of success: The smart Plant in Hambach
The smart plant in Hambach was inaugurated in 1997. Since 1998, it has produced the smart fortwo, since 2007 in its current generation. In 2008, more than 800 employees of the plant and some further 800 people employed by seven system partners produced about 140,000 units of the smart fortwo. In September 2008, the brand celebrated its tenth anniversary along with the 1-millionth smart fortwo produced at the Hambach plant.

The Hambach plant has represented an innovative production concept since its beginning: The assembly line in the shape of a plus sign has been designed to optimally meet the demands of assembly and logistics and ensures highly efficient production processes. This principle enables the system partners to supply modules directly to the assembly line, which reduces transport and logistics efforts to a minimum and hereby also provides an advantage regarding ecological aspects. In addition, the environmentally friendly and cost effective paint shop, an energy concept with numerous savings opportunities and the construction principle of the vehicles ensure that the ecological product responsibility of the smart brand is translated into the production.

About smart
Environmental friendliness and contemporary functionality have been defining features of the smart fortwo ever since it was launched more than ten years ago. Since then its innovative concept has combined sustainable, forward-looking technologies with individual urban mobility. With a length of just over two and a half meters, the extremely compact and fuel-efficient vehicle brings its occupants to their destination comfortably and safely. Its distintive design made smart an automotive lifestyle icon which shows that mobility, responsibility to the environment and joie de vivre are compatible with one another. The smart fortwo has established a class of its own.
Today, smart is present in 41 markets around the globe, with most recent market launches in China and Brazil. Germany, Italy, and the U.S. are key markets.

· Texas capital becomes showcase for car2go in the North American mobility market
· Partnership between City of Austin and car2go allows new concept of mobility for more than 13,000 city employees
· Project begins with 200 smart fortwo vehicles – further expansion planned in 2010

Austin, TX – In a joint partnership with the City of Austin, Daimler is launching its groundbreaking car2go pilot project in North America today. The innovative mobility concept makes city driving as easy as using a mobile phone. It offers Austin an easy, flexible, reasonably priced and progressive solution to the growing challenges of urban mobility. Austin becomes the official headquarters of car2go North America LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler. The first pilot phase starts with 200 smart fortwo vehicles and a defined group of users. At some point in 2010, the number of cars will be increased and car2go will be made accessible to all Austin residents and students.
The car2go system is straightforward. 200 smart fortwo vehicles are made available within the city for all registered car2go members. This fleet of vehicles can be accessed 24/7. After a one-time registration process, the customers can use the service on the spot by accessing any available vehicle on the street, or can book in advance through the online reservation process. One significant difference from traditional car-sharing programs is that car2go offers cars on demand and the customers may use the vehicle for as long as they like, without committing to a specific return time. Furthermore, car2go allows users to make one way trips. Charges are not based on distance, but on time – with rates starting by the minute.

“car2go is an innovative answer to current and future mobility needs in urban areas”, says Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. “We are pleased with the success we achieved in Ulm, Germany – the first car2go city – and we are ready for the next logical step on our way to an international rollout.”
Austin becomes first international partner for car2go

The City of Austin is the first North American city to partner with car2go. This launch follows the successful implementation of the first car2go pilot in October 2008 in the southern German city of Ulm.

The 200 smarts of the first pilot are rented 500 to 1,000 times per day and they are used by 15,000 customers which equals more than 15 percent of the citizens who possess a driver’s license in Ulm. 90 percent of the participants take advantage of the unique offer to use car2go spontaneously without booking in advance and for one-way trips.

“The City of Austin is committed to identifying and implementing solutions to address the challenges associated with urban growth, mobility and environmental sustainability,” said Mayor Lee Leffingwell. “This pilot-program partnership between car2go and the City of Austin represents a significant step toward helping us alleviate congestion, reduce emissions and increase the use of public transportation.”

For the pilot, the pick up and drop off area is limited to the greater downtown Austin area which has an expansion of about 17 square miles where more than 60,000 employees work. The use of a car2go vehicle includes all city-controlled parking fees: No need to feed the meters! car2go is paying a usage fee to the City of Austin in the form of free driving minutes for employees driving on City business.
“Facilitating innovative transportation solutions is integral to the City of Austin’s goal of becoming the best-managed city in America,” said City Manager Marc Ott. “By promoting large-scale car sharing, we can help address mobility challenges in and around our urban core, ultimately reducing the burden on city center traffic and parking.”

More than 13,000 city employees have the opportunity to use the smart vehicles not only for business but also for private use. Billing is handled with the same degree of simplicity and flexibility as every aspect of car2go – the rates are all-inclusive: fuel, maintenance, insurance, miles and parking. Competitive hourly or daily rates apply to longer rental periods. The trademark of car2go is its user friendly system, developed to meet and exceed the needs of customers. A car2go service team on the ground will handle daily maintenance of the vehicles. The service team will also ensure the vehicles are fueled and clean. If customers want to refuel the vehicles by themselves, they can use a pre-paid credit card found in the glove compartment of the car2go. The time for refueling the car will be credited to the customer with 10 minutes of free driving.

”The goal of the Austin pilot project is to gather experience we can use to ensure the public launch of car2go in North America in 2010 is successful,“ says Nicholas Cole, CEO of car2go North America LLC. “In the second phase we will increase the number of cars in Austin and open the service to the public. We are also talking to a large number of cities in North America and Europe about additional rollouts of car2go.”

The smart fortwo vehicles for the Austin pilot phase are provided by the smart USA Distributor LLC. The vehicle size and its maneuverability are perfect for car sharing programs in urban areas.

2010 – What’s New for model year 2010 smart fortwo (451.331 and 451.431)?

Here is a quick run-down courtesy of Daimler AG — sorry this is a bit high-level as it came directly from the media site without much editing..

- Availability of Bluetooth connectivity

- Armrest available on all models

- Leather optic dash available with leather package

- More attractive packages to provide value and options to customers when configuring their vehicles

- Tire pressure monitoring system removed as standard equipment on all lines. (Available as option on passion and BRABUS)

Stand alone Options:

- Seat Heating

- Body panel colours in deep black, cristal white, and rally red

> Silver metallic body panels

> Anti-theft alarm system

> Tire pressure control system

> smart fortwo BRABUS accessories

Packages:

- Comfort package: Air conditioning with automatic temperature control (incl. dust and pollen filter), and folding arm rest

-  Style package: Additional instruments (cockpit clock and rev counter), and fog lamps

( pure ) Stand Alone Options:

>  Heated Seats

>  smart radio 10 (radio with 6 fold CD changer, MP3 compatible; incl. 2 loudspeakers)

>  Anti-theft alarm system

>  Bluetooth connectivity

>  Tire Pressure Control System

>  Metallic body panel colours (silver metallic, grey metallic & blue metallic)

( passion )

> Integrated in additional instruments

> Functionality via wireless controller

> Connection with 10 cell phones possible

> Optional i-pod integration available

>    Style package: -spoke leather sport steering wheel with steering wheel shift paddles (incl. leather gearshift), 12-spokes alloy wheels (15”) (Design 1) , and  fog lamps

>    Leather package: Leather seats, dashboard in leather optic only in combination with Style package on smart fortwo passion models

>12-spoke (Design 1) alloy wheels, Style Package, smart fortwo passion

Additions to standard equipment:

> Arm rest, folding

> Dashboard in leather optic

> Fog lamps

Nice nice nice .. I hope that means we can get those things after the fact- I am one of those who wanted to add foglights after the fact, maybe after 2 years they finally got the system working and can do this for my ride too! woot!

Announcement on the occasion of a visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy

- In just five years from a pilot project to production for customers

- Production of a small series of 1,000 units to begin in November 2009

- Dr. Dieter Zetsche: “Emission-free driving in an urban environment is already feasible today.”

Hambach, France / Stuttgart, Germany — Daimler AG today announced that it selected the smart plant in Hambach, France, as the location for future series production of the smart fortwo electric drive. As of 2012, the highly innovative electric vehicle, equipped with the most modern lithium-ion-battery, will roll off the assembly line in large-scale production and will be offered to customers through the smart sales network. The announcement was made on the occasion of an official visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Hambach plant.
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: „The smart fortwo electric drive proves that emission-free driving in an urban environment is already feasible today. The initial series production will begin now with 1,000 vehicles, the first of which will be delivered to customers by the end of this year. As of 2012, the smart fortwo electric drive will then be part of the regular product program of the smart brand. With our decision to locate production here at the parent plant in Hambach, we are setting the course both for series production of electric vehicles and for the future of this highly innovative assembly plant“.

Daimler will invest a double-digit million euro amount at the Hambach plant for production of the next generation of the smart fortwo electric drive with lithium-ion-battery. During his visit, President Sarkozy announced that the French government will support the project through its PAT (Prime d’aménagement du territoire) program. Further support is to be extended by the Region Lorraine and the Département de la Moselle. Both these measures will comprise a total of 15 percent of the investment. The president was visiting the plant today to – amongst others –get a first-hand impression of environmentally compatible powertrains of the future.

In November 2009, the plant will start to produce a small series of about 1,000 units of the smart fortwo electric drive. In a first step, these vehicles will be provided to customers participating in various mobility projects in major cities in Europe and the U.S., in order to generate additional feedback from the use under everyday conditions.

As of 2012, the smart fortwo electric drive will be produced in significantly larger volumes as a regular part of the smart product portfolio and will be sold through the smart sales network. smart thus emphazises its pioneering role on the way to individual mobility with local zero-emissions in cities and urban areas.

First Milestones in 2007 and 2008
Since 2007, the smart brand has taken a pioneering role in the electrification of drive systems. Back then, smart started emission-free driving under tough everyday conditions of city traffic in London. 100 smart fortwo electric drives of the first generation have been in practical customer operation. The feedback from this project has been very positive and confirmed the high degree of maturity of this vehicle concept.

Just one year later, the company introduced the second generation with an even more advanced electric drive and an innovative, highly efficient lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion technology has decisive advantages over other types of batteries including higher performance, shorter charging times, a long life and high reliability. In addition, a smart fortwo electric drive can be charged at a regular household power outlet.

A story of success: The smart Plant in Hambach
The smart plant in Hambach was inaugurated in 1997. Since 1998, it has produced the smart fortwo, since 2007 in its current generation. In 2008, more than 800 employees of the plant and some further 800 people employed by seven system partners produced about 140,000 units of the smart fortwo. In September 2008, the brand celebrated its tenth anniversary along with the 1-millionth smart fortwo produced at the Hambach plant.

The Hambach plant has represented an innovative production concept since its beginning: The assembly line in the shape of a plus sign has been designed to optimally meet the demands of assembly and logistics and ensures highly efficient production processes. This principle enables the system partners to supply modules directly to the assembly line, which reduces transport and logistics efforts to a minimum and hereby also provides an advantage regarding ecological aspects. In addition, the environmentally friendly and cost effective paint shop, an energy concept with numerous savings opportunities and the construction principle of the vehicles ensure that the ecological product responsibility of the smart brand is translated into the production.

About smart
Environmental friendliness and contemporary functionality have been defining features of the smart fortwo ever since it was launched more than ten years ago. Since then its innovative concept has combined sustainable, forward-looking technologies with individual urban mobility. With a length of just over two and a half meters, the extremely compact and fuel-efficient vehicle brings its occupants to their destination comfortably and safely. Its distintive design made smart an automotive lifestyle icon which shows that mobility, responsibility to the environment and joie de vivre are compatible with one another. The smart fortwo has established a class of its own.
Today, smart is present in 41 markets around the globe, with most recent market launches in China and Brazil. Germany, Italy, and the U.S. are key markets.
Further information from Daimler is available on the Internet at
www.media.daimler.com

About Daimler
Daimler AG, Stuttgart, with its businesses Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Daimler Financial Services, Mercedes-Benz Vans and Daimler Buses, is a globally leading producer of premium passenger cars and the global market leader of heavy- and medium-duty trucks as well as buses. The Daimler Financial Services division has a broad offering of financial services, including vehicle financing, leasing, insurance and fleet management. Daimler sells its products in nearly all the countries of the world and has production facilities on five continents. The company’s founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, continued to make automotive history following their invention of the automobile in 1886. As an automotive pioneer, Daimler and its employees willingly accept an obligation to act responsibly towards society and the environment and to shape the future of safe and sustainable mobility with groundbreaking technologies and high-quality products. The current brand portfolio includes the world’s most valuable automobile brand, Mercedes-Benz, as well as smart, AMG, Maybach, Freightliner, Western Star, Mitsubishi Fuso, Setra, Orion and Thomas Built Buses. The company is listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt, New York and Stuttgart (stock exchange abbreviation DAI). In 2008, the Group sold 2.1 million vehicles and employed a workforce of over 270,000 people; revenue totaled €95.9 billion and EBIT amounted to €2.7 billion. Daimler is an automotive Group with a commitment to excellence, and aims to achieve sustainable growth and industry-leading profitability.