Nissan and Smart, the company which builds those tiny Fortwo mini autos, have come together, and now Nissan will work on a smaller 4-door vehicle for the American consumer.
Smart is distributed exclusively by Penske Automotive Group in the US, through its subsidiary, Smart USA. The Smart brand is owned by Germany's Daimler AG, and it currently sells just one car, the two-passenger Smart ForTwo minicar, in the United States.
"Now we have the good fortune to meet the needs of what our dealers and our consumers have told us they want," said Smart USA President Jill Lajdziak. "They love the Smart brand. They would just like a little more seating capacity, and this vehicle allows us to meet the needs of the consumers."
The Smart made by Nissan at an undisclosed location will be a gas-powered hatchback sold by Smart USA at its 78 US locations. The new subcompact vehicle will be larger than the Smart ForTwo.
"We are proud to be a partner with both Daimler and Nissan, two companies focused on bringing high-quality, fuel-efficient products to the U.S. market," Roger Penske, chairman of Penske Automotive Group said in a statement.
Nissan spokesman David Reuter said the car will be based on the Micra subcompact car Nissan sells in Asia and he added that Nissan will build the new car at one of Nissan's four plants in North America.
Nissan builds the Sentra compact car and Versa subcompact at its assembly plant in Mexico. Reuter said Nissan is not concerned about the new Smart competing with Versa.
"We have a very successful product and we don't feel this product will in any way diminish the success we have had with the Versa," he said.
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