Smart's Dealerships Are About to Become More Exclusive Than Ferrari's

Daimler announced in February that it would stop sending gasoline-powered models to North America this summer and move exclusively to EVs after inventory levels decline. Dealers had until the end of June to decide if they wanted to be a part of the next wave of personal mobility.

With Smart swapping to electric-only drivetrains for U.S. retailers, we assumed the majority of Mercedes-Benz dealers still clinging onto the microscopic Fortwo would abandon it — as would every standalone Smart store still in existence.

Smart only sold 54 electric models within the United States between January and May, so it’s understandable that this summer saw over two-thirds of all retailers opting out of the deal. That leaves Smart with only 27 sanctioned stores within the United States, making it more exclusive than Lotus, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and even Rolls-Royce.

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  • Mike Bradley Driveways, parking lots, side streets, railroad beds, etc., etc., etc. And, yes, it's not just EVs. Wait until tractor-trailers, big trucks, farm equipment, go electric.
  • Cprescott Remember the days when German automakers built reliable cars? Now you'd be lucky to get 40k miles out of them before the gremlins had babies.
  • Cprescott Likely a cave for Witch Barra and her minions.
  • Cprescott Affordable means under significantly under $30k. I doubt that will happen. And at the first uptick in sales, the dealers will tack on $5k in extra profit.
  • Analoggrotto Tell us you're vying for more Hyundai corporate favoritism without telling us. That Ioniq N test drive must have really gotten your hearts.