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Smart on the way to extinction

According to the German newspaper Handelsblatt, the future of Smart is full of black clouds, and this is because the Daimler Group's small vehicle brand has regularly accumulated losses, estimated at between 500 and 700 million euros per year.
The source of the Handelsblatt is a member of the unidentified German manufacturer who draws attention to Zetsche's strong relationship with Smart - established in 1994 but whose first vehicle was marketed in 1998 - unlike Ola Kallenius, the Daimler's new CEO, who never maintained any contact with Smart, which would make it easier to close.
To be confirmed, the decision remains surprising, especially now that Mercedes needs help to reduce average CO2 emissions, a sector in which Smart can be a great help. Not only is it making a total shift to electrification, but even before that its small engines have always announced one of the lowest carbon dioxide averages on the market.
Smart was a concept created by the genius of watchmaking Nicholas Hayek, CEO of SHM (company that designed and developed Swatch wristwatches). Initially, the partnership to develop this project was signed with Volkswagen in 1991, until the arrival of Ferdinand Piëch at the controls put an end to it. And so Hayek eventually established a partnership with Daimler in 1994. Today, Smart is built on Renault Twingo's chassis, engines and gearboxes and is manufactured by Renault (ForFour) and Smart (ForTwo) .
The small brand has always undermined the Daimler group's profits, and is the latest attempt to remove the transformation of Smart from a manufacturer of combustion engine vehicles to an electric model specialist. If it does not work, the Handelsblatt source guarantees that Ola Kallenius will have no problem with "unplugging the plug". Autonews