Pilot Smart Car
Daimler AG is launching a pilot program in Austin, Texas, for short-term rental of the micro car, after the Smart’s U.S. sales continuing to drop dramatically.
The program, called car2go, would allow registered users to pick up an available smart, use it for as long as needed, and return it to designated locations in the city. A pilot with 200 Smart ForTwo cars will be run with Austin city employees.
Daimler tested the program in Ulm, Germany, last year with Mercedes-Benz employees and opened the program to city residents in March. The cost is 19 cents per minute. A day costs 49 euros or $73.40.
Daimler hasn’t given details on how the U.S. pilot would operate. A Webinar is scheduled for Tuesday in Austin where the program is being announced. The car2go program is being run by Daimler and does not involve Smart’s U.S. distributor and importer, Penske Automotive Group Inc. of suburban Detroit.
Daimler is not giving up on smart in the United States. Low fuel prices drove smart sales in 2008 when the car was launched. Now the higher fuel prices are responsible for the dramatic sales drop.
