Those of you eagerly awaiting the arrival of the next smart fortwo won't have much longer to wait - production of the lovable smart is already well underway, getting off to a success start at the brand's production plant in Hambach, France.

As for the first smart fortwo to roll off the French assembly line, that honor goes to a member of the "pure" equipment line, one which sports simple white body panels and a black tridion safety cell.

To learn more about the smart fortwo's production launch, you can find more information in the full press release below.  And don't forget:  ordering of the new model (in Europe) commences mid-January; deliveries to dealers begin in April; the base price will stay of the level of the previous model; and the pricing for options, other engine variants, special models, etc. is still forthcoming.

Got all that?

Good.

The press release follows; enjoy.



OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


Ordering starts mid January: Production of the new smart fortwo gets off to a successful start

Stuttgart, Jan 05, 2007
At "smartville", the production plant for the smart fortwo in Hambach, France, production of the new smart fortwo has got off to a successful start. The first vehicle produced in the pure equipment line has white bodypanels and a black tridion safety cell.

Since the launch of the previous model in October 1998 more than 770,000 smart fortwo have been produced in Hambach. The last vehicle of the previous model series rolled off the production line at the end of November 2006. The time up to the New Year was used to switch the production to the new model.

The new smart fortwo can do everything that the previous model could do – but even better. This means that the new smart fortwo is even more comfortable, even more agile, even safer and even more environmentally friendly than its predecessor.

The new smart fortwo can be ordered from mid January and will be available from dealers from April. The prices will be announced in good time prior to the start of ordering. The starting price for the new smart fortwo will stay at the level of the predecessor model.

Copyright © 2006, DaimlerChrysler AG