Smart's factory in Hambach, France — also known as “Smartville” — has been producing the small townhouse since it arrived on the market in 1997. Since then, more than 2.2 million units have been produced between the various generations of the Fortwo ( and more recently Forfour), with around 1600 employees.
Now Daimler is looking for a buyer for its production unit , a measure integrated in the group's restructuring plans to reduce costs and optimize its global production network. A measure that gains even more urgency due to the difficult conditions in the automobile market today, as a result of the pandemic.
We recall that just over a year ago, Daimler announced the sale of 50% of Smart to Geely, and it was also agreed that the production of the brand's next generation citizens would be transferred to China.
However, a year earlier, in 2018, Daimler had injected 500 million euros into Smart's factory to produce electric vehicles, in preparation for Smart's transformation into an all-electric automotive brand. Investment that was not intended only for the production of Smart electrics, but also the production of a small EQ model (sub-brand for electric models) for Mercedes-Benz was also discussed.
Subscribe to our newsletter
For now, the current Smart fortwo and forfour will continue to be produced in Hambach, but the search for a buyer to guarantee the future of the Smart factory is fundamental, as noted by Markus Schäfer, member of the board of Daimler AG, COO (head of operations ) of Mercedes-Benz cars, and responsible for the research at the Daimler Group:
The transformation to future CO-neutral mobility two it also requires changes to our global production network. We have to adjust our production to respond to this phase of economic challenges, balancing demand with capacity. Changes that also affect the Hambach factory.
An important objective is to guarantee the future of the unit. Another condition is to continue to produce the current Smart models in Hambach.