DaimlerChrysler has announced its plans to save Smart, its spin-off that makes the car whose party trick is to park end on to the kerb, which include termination of the Roadster's production.
Some speculate that in fact the company's plan is eventually to choke off the marque altogether, whose
losses could be amounting to around £400 million a year.
But, putting a brave face on it, the company said its new business model aims to put the small-car brand onto a financially sound basis, with the goal of breaking even in 2007.
Key points of the plan are:
- The production of the smart roadster will be terminated at the end of 2005.
- The smart SUV project to be discontinued.
- Intensified development of the successor to the smart fortwo, including fulfilling the requirements of the US market. The next generation of the three-cylinder petrol engine will also be used by other manufacturers, said the company, making the point that cost-saving economies of scale should result.
- Cooperation with Mitsubishi Motors on the smart forfour to be continued. Measures to be taken to improve profitability mean that this product will break even in the future.
- The number of Smart outlets to increase by a quarter.
- Workers will be laid off or made redundant in a bid to shave a whopping 30 per cent off operating costs. The management said it aimed "to achieve these reductions in a socially acceptable manner, and talks are planned with the works council on this issue in the coming weeks."
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