Category Archives: Daimler

Smart ED introduced at Paris Auto Show

Smart ED

Daimler has been working on electric smart cars for a couple years now. The company has been testing an earlier version of the Smart ED in London since the end of 2007, leasing 100 vehicles to get real-world experience with electric drives.  Their success has led to Daimler to expand the project into Berlin, with the help of utility giant RWE. Daimler will test 100 EDs, which run on lithium-ion batteries, while RWE will install 500 electricity charging stations through the city.  Small series production of the electric two-seater will start at the end of 2009 and Smart will then deliver the first vehicles to selected customers.

The Smart ED will get 70-90 miles on a charge.  The Zytec electric motor is “electronically limited” at 60 mph and Smart claims the ED has a 0-30mph in an “impressive 6.5 seconds”.  Either that is a typo or Diamler has an extremely lenient definition of “impressive”.  I would be wary to take this car on the highway.  Let’s hope they make some performance improvements before 2009.

Electric Smart Car by 2010!

Smart Car

Undoubtedly you’ve seen these things on the road by now. They’re not the fastest, or sexiest, or roomiest cars, but they are flying off the dealership lots in the U.S. Soaring gas prices coupled with a reasonable price between $11,000 and $18,000 have made these cars the popular choice for those who aren’t ready to take the plunge into the expensive hybrid market. Now Daimler plans to include the Smart Car in its new line of electric vehicles. This announcement came just weeks after Daimler bought batteries from Tesla in “a small deal that could potentially lead to a very big deal.” I’ll go on the record to say the Electric Smart car will be an incredible hit in the U.S. The Smart Car is the ideal size for an electric motor, not much larger than a golf cart. With the lower power requirement, the price of the electric version should not be bad at all. Mark my words, this will be big if it stays around $20,000.