Smart History: The Swatchmobile, the Fortwo and Smart Today

Smart at a glance

Nicolas Hayek and the Swatchmobile

The brand began with an outsider. Nicolas Hayek, head of the Swiss watch group SMH, believed carmakers ignored buyers who wanted a small, stylish and cheap city car. From the early 1980s his private firm, Hayek Engineering AG, worked on a two-seater that would be sold like a Swatch watch: colourful, personal and easy to change. Hayek wanted a hybrid drivetrain, and the project became known as the "Swatchmobile".

Hayek needed a car company to build it. On 3 July 1991 he signed a development deal with Volkswagen, but Ferdinand Piëch, who became VW chief in 1993, pushed for a four-seater close to VW's own economy-car ideas and soon ended the project. BMW, Fiat, General Motors and Renault also said no. Daimler-Benz finally agreed, and on 4 March 1994 the two companies announced Micro Compact Car AG (MCC). Its starting capital was 50 million Swiss francs, with SMH holding 49 % and Daimler-Benz 51 %. The first headquarters was in Biel, Switzerland.

The name caused the first argument. Hayek wanted "Swatch" in it, Daimler-Benz wanted something neutral. The compromise was "Smart", an acronym of Swatch Mercedes ART that had already been used inside MCC.

Hambach, the moose test and the 1998 launch

MCC studied 74 possible plant sites and chose Hambach in the Lorraine region of France on 20 December 1994. French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl opened "Smartville" on 27 October 1997.

MCC planned the launch for March 1998, but prototypes proved unstable in the Swedish "moose" avoidance test. Gerhard Fritz took over from chief engineer Johann Tomforde. The car received a lower centre of gravity, a wider track, firmer suspension, revised steering and extra weight at the front. The delayed City-Coupé went on sale in nine European countries in October 1998. Instead of Hayek's hybrid, it used a small turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine at the rear.

Ownership shifted too: Daimler-Benz raised its stake to 81 % by 1996 and bought SMH's remaining share shortly after the launch. From 1 January 1999 the company was called MCC smart GmbH, and from 2000 simply smart GmbH.

Growth, losses and absorption into Mercedes (1999–2019)

Early on the City-Coupé had a 599 cc engine with 33 to 45 kW, later 698 cc, plus a 799 cc diesel with 30 kW. A Cabrio followed, and in 2002 the car took the name Fortwo. Smart then tried to become a full brand.

• Crossblade (2002): a roofless, doorless Fortwo limited to 2,000 cars; the first one raised EUR 51,049.99 for charity in an eBay auction.
• Roadster (2003–2005): a rear-engined, rear-drive sports car in roadster and coupé form; Hambach built about 43,000.
• Forfour (2004–2006): a four-door supermini made at NedCar in Born, the Netherlands, sharing about 40 % of its parts with the Mitsubishi Colt.
• Formore: a planned crossover, cancelled while tooling was already being installed at Hambach.

The expansion did not pay off, and Smart lost nearly EUR 4 billion between 2003 and 2006, and ending the Forfour cost Mercedes-Benz about EUR 1 billion in compensation. The last Roadster left the line on 4 November 2005. In 2006 smart GmbH was dissolved and the brand became part of the Mercedes-Benz Cars division.

The Fortwo itself kept going. The second generation (C451) arrived in 2007, 200 mm longer at 2,690 mm, with 1.0-litre petrol engines from 52 to 75 kW and a 40 kW diesel. Brabus versions gave the range a sporty top. Smart sold 113,900 cars worldwide in 2009, a fall of 18 % on the year before. The third-generation Fortwo and a new Forfour came in 2014; the Forfour was developed with the Renault Twingo and built in Slovenia.

Electric drive and the end of the Fortwo

Electric power had been part of Hayek's idea from the start. A first Electric Drive Fortwo went to 100 test users in London, and the third version (ED3) stayed on sale from late 2012 to mid-2015. In March 2017 the electric Fortwo of the third generation arrived, later renamed EQ fortwo. The petrol Fortwo and Forfour were dropped after 2019, and from then on Smart sold only electric cars.

Ineos Automotive bought Hambach in December 2020 and builds its Grenadier off-roader there. Smart production continued alongside until 3 April 2024, when the last Fortwo left the line. By early 2015 1.7 million Fortwos had been built, and the total passed 2 million before production ended. For the full story of the car itself, see the Smart Fortwo page.

The Geely joint venture since 2019

In 2019 Daimler agreed to turn Smart into a joint venture with Zhejiang Geely Holding, the Chinese group that also owns Volvo Cars. Smart Automobile Co., Ltd. is owned 50/50 by Mercedes-Benz and Geely and is based in Ningbo. Mercedes-Benz handles the design, Geely the engineering and production. The background of the partner is in the history of Geely.

The new Smarts are larger electric SUVs on Geely's SEA platform. The Concept #1 was shown at the 2021 Munich motor show, the Smart #1 entered production in 2022, the #3 in 2023 and the #5 in 2024. A #6 is listed for 2026. All are built in China and sold in Europe, China and other markets. To see how today's electric Smarts compare with other battery cars, browse the 1cars electric car section.

Landmark models, 1998–2024

Smart compared with other city cars

The original Fortwo was about 2.5 m long. By our calculation that is about 1.5 m shorter than a typical four-metre supermini, so it could park nose-first in a gap meant for one car parked lengthways. That made it a favourite of car-sharing fleets and city drivers. The weak points were a jerky automated gearbox on older cars, only two seats and a high price for its size. Rivals such as the Toyota iQ and the four-seat city cars from Fiat, VW and Hyundai offered more space for less money. You can test the size difference in the 1cars size comparison tool or put two city cars side by side in the 1cars comparison tool. The wider class is covered in the best small city cars guide.

Which Smart to choose

For a cheap city runabout, the sensible pick is a 2007–2014 Fortwo with the 52 kW petrol engine. Parts are easy to find, and it is more refined than the first car. Buyers who drive only in town should look at the electric EQ fortwo, which has a short range but very low running costs. Families need the four-seat Forfour or, today, a Geely-era #1 or #3, which are full-size electric SUVs rather than micro cars. Check gearbox behaviour, electric battery health and the condition of the plastic body panels before buying a used car.

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