Smart stops production of the EQ Forfour electric mini-city car

When you think of Smart, you immediately think of the Fortwo and its unique proposition on the market. However, since 2004, the brand has also offered a more traditional mini-city car, the Forfour. As its name suggests, it is capable of accommodating up to four passengers on board, compared to two for the Fortwo. After leaving the Smart catalog in 2006, this model made a comeback in 2014, in the form of a second generation co-developed with Renault.

This Forfour, sharing its platform with the Renault Twingo, was now rear-engine propulsion, like the Fortwo. Launched with petrol engines, it saw the birth of the electric version Electric Drive (ED) in 2018, renamed from EQ Forfour, while the thermal versions were abandoned in 2019, Smart becoming a 100% electric brand.

But now Smart stops production of its Forfour, reports the German newspaper Auto Motor und Sport. It was assembled at the Renault plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, alongside the Twingo, which has also been available in an electric version since 2020. This announcement is not really a surprise, as Smart has already put an end to the taking of order for the Forfour.

An uncompetitive proposition and a pesky cousin

The EQ Forfour was not very successful. Its very low range (130 km WLTP) and its high price – nearly € 30,000 excluding bonuses – did not allow it to find its audience. Thus, only 225 copies were sold in France in 2021, according to Autoways; result, it points to the 43^e place in the ranking of electric car sales. This figure, already very low in absolute terms, is more than six times lower than that posted by its little sister the EQ Fortwo over the same period. However, the latter is not a box with 1,377 units sold (23^e ranking place).

By way of comparison, the electric Renault Twingo E-Tech recorded 8,837 registrations in France in 2021 (6^e ranking of electric cars). It continues to be produced in the Novo Mesto plant, as does its thermal version. However, its technical data sheet is different from that of the EQ Forfour. With a useful 22 kWh battery, it announces a mixed WLTP range of 190 km, for a lower price of € 21,550 excluding state aid (€ 15,750 bonus deducted). It should remain in the catalog until 2024 and the arrival of the future electric R5, Renault confirmed to us.

For the moment, the Smart range therefore consists only of the EQ Fortwo and its cabrio variant. The Forfour should not have direct descendants, but a small electric SUV is expected in 2023, inspired by Concept # 1.

Also around 2023, a new generation of Fortwo should be marketed. Currently produced in France, in Moselle, it will henceforth be assembled in China. This is one of the consequences of the creation of a joint venture 50/50 owned by the Chinese group Geely and Daimler (the former owner of Smart), which now oversees the brand’s activities.