Expand or die, says smart

The future of the freshly revealed third-generation smart fortwo and forfour may be uncertain in Australia, but the German micro-car brand has made it clear that if it is to thrive, it has to expand.

smart has never been profitable for its parent company and Daimler AG Chairman and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Dieter Zetsche, admits that were it not for a platform and engine-sharing deal with Renault, the new model would not have happened. There was no stand-alone business case for a new smart range, he said.

Furthermore, motoring.com.au understands the new fortwo and forfour models are unlikely to be profitable until the full range of vehicles becomes operational, including cabrio and EV versions.

But there's also scope to expand the range in new directions, something that is generating a lot of buzz within the company.

smart has registered the name 'formore', which is believed to be a stretched forfour directed at the US and China -- two of the brand's most important markets after Germany and Italy.

When motoring.com.au mentioned the idea of a longer model to sit above the forfour (we called it forfive), Kai Sieber, smart's design director, replied "Good idea".

He also confirmed that a cabrio version of the forfour is planned, along with a smart fortwo EV as well.

"For the brands there are so many ideas possible. At the moment we are really thinking about completing the family with the products we still have on the old platform. This will take us still a little time, and then we'll talk about what is next.

"The first step was what we showed today, fortwo and forfour. Then forfour will have a completely openable roof, a fabric roof like the Fiat 500. Not a real cabriolet, but you can generously open your roof.

"In a few years we will have on the new platform the cabriolet and EV fortwo. This will happen in the near future, and only then we will have a look at new product in our range."

He explained there were "lots of ideas we still have in our drawers" but that nothing was set in stone thus far.

"I'd love to do another roadster," he said of the slow-slung sports car model, but cautioned "whatever we would come up with would need to have a very, very close bond to the family.

"Our core, this urban joy, we have to keep in mind what it means. I'm curious as well at what will be approved and when," he teased.

What about an SUV?

"I think it could work," he said, and his colleague Michael Schaller, smart's head of marketing communications and brand management, agreed.

"If we could integrate the smart DNA into an SUV, why not? This is always a challenge for a brand like smart... you have to make sure everything smart stands for is in our products. They have to be authentic," stated Schaller.

"If people like an SUV or a pick-up, maybe that could be a solution, but it has to be clearly a smart, the shortest and most compact in the segment. If we can manage that and get it sold in a profitable volume, why not?

"We have many other ideas," he said. "It's a really very exciting time for smart."

Along with cabrio and EV models, another confirmed variant will be the go-fast, look-good Brabus variant, which is expected to have slightly more power, lower suspension, bigger wheels, a sports body kit and a jazzier cabin.

"Brabus is the AMG of smart -- it's basically the same idea," said Schaller. "It's going to follow soon but we don't have production dates."

The smart brand management supremo said that although there will be substantial growth for the smart marque, both in terms of sales and product, there will be more competition from rivals.

Whatever the case, the next four years will be crucial for smart to turn its fortunes around, because if it can't turn a profit with the new model, it could be the last-generation smart.