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Car2go finds huge customer base waiting in China

Car2go appears to be struggling a bit in the US – ending its electric fleet in San Diego and not announcing any expansions here for a while now – but the news is different in China. After just two months of operations in Chongqing, China, Car2go is serving 78,000 customers. As the company itself admits in the press release below, that's almost as many as use Car2go in a North American or European city after five years in business. There, about 100,000 to 130,000 people use Car2go. Chongqing is Car2go's first location in Asia. Of course, population numbers are different in China. As they say, if you're one in a million in China, there are still 1,000 people just like you. And while you may not have heard of Chongqing, it's a metropolis of 30 million people. The biggest city in the US, New York, has about 20 million in its metropolitan area. And yet, for 30 million potential users and 78,000 actual ones, Car2go offers them just 400 vehicles. Since Car2go has served over 40,000 rentals in its first two months, that means someone is stepping into a blue-and-white Smart Fortwo every 1.7 minutes, on average. Car2go has been thinking about offering short-term A-to-B rentals in China since at least 2014, when we came across a Car2go booth at the Challenge Bibendum there. Related Video: After less than two months, car2go has 78,000 customers in China 07. June 2016 Stuttgart/Chongqing car2go makes free-floating car sharing popular in the Chinese metropolis Chongqing More than 40,000 rentals in the first few weeks A car2go vehicle is rented every 1.7 minutes in Chongqing Stuttgart/ Chongqing – In less than two months, more than 78,000 customers have registered with car2go in China. For comparison: After between four to five years, the biggest car2go locations in Europe and North America have approximately 100,000 to 130,000 registered customers per city. More than 40,000 vehicle rentals within this period mean that one of the 400 car2go vehicles in Chongqing is rented every 1.7 minutes. With this start, car2go has created an important alternative to owning one's own car and thus a valuable addition to the local public transport system in Chongqing with its 30 million inhabitants. "The start in Chongqing far exceeds our expectations", says Roland Keppler, CEO of car2go.

Smart hopes to jump-start brand by offering cheapest electric car

Bloomberg has reported that Daimler is looking at the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive to recharge the division's relevance and brand perception, and part of how the ForTwo ED will do that is by being the first mass-produced and the least expensive German electric car on the market. Some context: Bloomberg says the brand seeks 10,000 annual sales for its electron-powered runabout, which is just 10 percent of Smart global sales. More important than how many ForTwo EDs are sold, however, would be the fact that by beating the BMW i3 and electric Volkswagen e-Up! to market, it would "re-establish the brand's position as an urban mobility pioneer with the first mass-produced electric auto from a German manufacturer."
At least, that's the plan - one that we're inclined to file under "Things That Make You Go Hmmm...." We enjoyed our time in the ForTwo ED; the electric drivetrain was a perfect fit and remedied what is perhaps the principal gripe with the current car (in the U.S., at least) - its less-than-smooth transmission. Nevertheless, even though people open to electric cars and the premiums that electric and range-extended vehicles command, we have a feeling that Smart's pricing will continue to make it tough for the little guy to compete.
A conventional Smart starts at €10,275 ($13,489 U.S.) in Germany, and a conventional VW Up! is €9,850 ($12,931 U.S.). The ForTwo ED has been priced at €18,910 ($24,824 U.S.) plus €65 ($85.33 U.S.) per month for the battery - and we'd be surprised if VW didn't make sure the larger, plusher e-Up! was right there with it. The Renault Zoe - not German, we know - will be slightly more expensive at €20,600 (around $27k), plus a monthly fee for the battery, but the Zoe is a four-door hatchback the size of a Clio. Pricing for this landmass hasn't been announced, but the electric competition generally hits the mid-$30K mark: the four-door, four-seat Mitsubishi i-MiEV sets the low end at $29,625, the Nissan Leaf at $35,200, the BMW i3 is rumored to come in around $35,000, the Fiat 500E is predicted to be right there, too, and that's supposedly after Fiat swallows a hefty loss on each car. Chevrolet sets the high bar with the range-extended Volt at $39,145.

Smart Forjoy bounds in ahead of Frankfurt

Smart has revealed its newest concept car, the jovial, four-seater Forjoy. The "joy" part of that sobriquet is rather obvious ­- with the doorless, roofless, rear-glass-free concept looking like a beach-wagon full of fun ­- but it's the four seats that might prove most prescient as far as Smart's future plans are concerned.
The German small-car maker goes as far as to call the Forjoy "the forerunner of a new smart generation" in its press release, saying that the concept car's proportions portend a lot about the appearance of a four-seat production car. That upcoming Forfour (most likely) should get an official launch at the end of 2014.
Of course, while there might be some production-car cues hiding in this wispy, white and pearlescent concept buggy, the detailing of it can be safely categorized as "concept car only." Polished bits of milled aluminum brightwork are shiny flights of fancy, as is the modern minimalist furniture that ornaments the airy cabin.