French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, with Dieter Zetsche, right, at the EV announcement.
Daimler AG says that the Smart plant in Hambach, France, will make Smart fortwo electric cars. Starting in 2012, the EV powered by lithium-ion-batteries will be available through the Smart sales network.
The announcement was made during an official visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Hambach plant this week.
If electric vehicles makes sense anywhere in the world — and that is debatable — it is in France, which uses nuclear power to produce most of its electricity. In the U.S. burning coal provides most of the electricity and huge amounts of carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases.
“The initial series production will begin now with 1,000 vehicles, the first of which will be delivered to customers by the end of this year. As of 2012, the Smart fortwo electric drive will then be part of the regular product program of the Smart brand,” said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
“With our decision to locate production here at the parent plant in Hambach, we are setting the course both for series production of electric vehicles and for the future of this highly innovative assembly plant,” Zetsche said.
Daimler will invest an undisclosed amount at the Hambach plant to add EV production. French taxpayers will provide subsidies.
President Sarkozysaid that the French government will support the project through its PAT (Prime d’aménagement du territoire) program. Further support is to be extended by the Region Lorraine and the Département de la Moselle. These incentives will total 15% of the undisclosed investment, which is thought to be about 1000 million Euros.
In November 2009, the plant will make about 1,000 EVs. These vehicles will be used by customers participating in various mobility projects incities in Europe and the U.S., in order to generate additional feedback from their use under everyday conditions.
As viewers of TheDetroitBureau.com are aware, impending European carbon dioxide regulations are prompting virtually all automakers to develop electric vehicles, if only to get taxpayer subsidies or earn credits so that larger, less efficient vehicles can remain in production.
It is actually a global trend since other countries are in the process of adopting similar standards.
Just how the automotive industry will change given the new electric vehicle technologies, unheard of business models, and the emergence of unknown, untested entrants remains to be seen.
One hotly debated issue – optimistic industry forecasts versus actual customer demand with or without huge incentives – could result in a huge taxpayer-funded boondoggle if expensive, range limited EVs are spurned by potential buyers.
As of 2012, the Smart fortwo EV will be produced in “significantly larger volumes” as a regular part of the smart product portfolio.
The Smart Plant in Hambach
The Smart plant in Hambach was inaugurated in 1997. Since 1998, it has produced the Smart fortwo, since 2007 in its current generation. In 2008, more than 800 employees of the plant and some further 800 people employed by seven system partners produced about 140,000 units of the Smart fortwo. In September 2008, the brand celebrated its tenth anniversary along with the 1-millionth vehicle produced at the Hambach plant.
Today, Smart is available in 41 markets, with most recent market launches in China and Brazil. Germany, Italy, and the U.S. remain the key markets.