"We want to see how the public reacts and find
out how much of a demand exists for our products," she says.
Industry observers had expected smart to use the Detroit
Auto Show as a forum to unveil their next line -- a micro-SUV (or
smart utility vehicle) called the formore. Knittel says they changed
plans in December when smart decided the show would be too early
for such a rollout.
Even though smart showcased its existing line in Detroit
and has been selling cars in Europe and Canada for years now, it
appears to be in little hurry to sell the micro vehicles in the
United States any time soon.
Without a dealer network or any real marketing efforts
here, Knittel says smart doesn't foresee selling its first car in
the United States until late 2006, and added that is not even a
firm launch date.
Forfour
Click images for larger view |
Rest assured, though, American
buyers don't have to wait for smart to break ground in the United
States before they can get their hands on a fortwo.
ZAP, a car dealer based in California that specializes
in electric vehicles and other low-emission transportation options,
has taken it upon itself to hurry the fortwo onto the U.S. market.
ZAP, short for Zero Air Pollution, began working with an importer
two years ago to retrofit the European model to adhere to U.S.
emissions and collision standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency gave ZAP its
final nod in December. EPA approval cleared the road for ZAP to
begin selling retrofitted fortwos throughout the nation. It also
paved the way for ZAP to apply for the more strict California
emissions approval.
"We have heard that it typically takes three
or four months from the time you get federal approval to the time
you get California approval, but we have no control over the timeline,"
says Steven Kim, director of investor relations for ZAP.
While it waits for approval from California, ZAP
is gearing up to begin delivering fortwos to non-California residents
on its 8,000-customer waiting list.
ZAP is not affiliated with smart and gets its cars
from Smart-Auto LLC, an independent California-based importer
that buys the cars directly from the dealer. Smart-Auto is the
only company approved by the EPA to retrofit the cars so far,
Kim says, and ZAP has signed an exclusive distribution deal with
them.
"Right now, we are the only legal way to get
a fortwo in the U.S.," Kim says.
Between the time ZAP begins selling fortwos and
when smart formally enters the market, Kim says ZAP dealerships
will service the cars itself.
As of December, ZAP had signed deals with about
30 dealers around the nation and Kim says they are in talks with
a national retailer to possibly expand that number to 200. He
would not identify the retailer or say in which markets their
first dealerships will open.
Kim says it should take ZAP about three months to
deliver a car from the time a customer puts down a deposit. He
says the first fortwos should fetch about $22,000 each.
Despite its tiny size, Kim says the fortwos fared
surprisingly well in the crash tests. Each smart is built around
a "safety cell," which is a reinforced passenger compartment
the shape of a walnut.
To prove the car's mettle, smart released a crash-test
video pitting the fortwo against a Mercedes E Class luxury sedan.
"It achieved very high results in our crash
tests," Knittel says. "After that crash, the safety
cell was still intact."
While any smaller car is at a disadvantage in a
wreck with a larger car, the smarts have fared well in real-world
scenarios in Europe.
"They're safe cars," Kahn says. "Remember,
they were designed to cruise on the Autobahn. They were tested
to a very high standard."
Knittel says she is confident the smart is ready
to make its entrance in the American market within the next few
years.
"People are longing for a brand that stands
out aesthetically. It is a car that makes sense and has a soul,"
she says. "We think America is ready."
Michael Giusti is a freelance
writer based in New Orleans.
-- Posted: Feb. 15, 2005
