Daimler's Smart Car Nears Relaunch of Four-Door ForFour
After $4 billion in losses, the compact Smart car is getting bigger
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In 1998, Daimler made a brash gamble based on a simple idea: that people in cramped cities wanted a cheap car so small that parking would never be a problem. The two-passenger, two-door Smart car hit the market with a $9,150 price tag, measuring 98 inches long, 60 inches wide, and 61 inches high.
Sixteen years later and after more than $4 billion in losses, according to estimates by Bankhaus Metzler, the German automaker figures the diminutive car has a problem—it’s too small. In July, Daimler will introduce an upgrade of its ForTwo model and roll out the four-door ForFour to try to reignite interest in Smart cars.