NEW YORK — Smart car importer Penske Automotive Group has found that the little city car is big outside the expected target markets of Los Angeles and New York, with dealers in middle America desperate for more of the cars, according to CEO Roger Penske.
The Smart Fortwo is also selling more heavily laden with options than was expected, he added. The average Fortwo is equipped with $1,600 in options, or about 15 percent of the car's base price, and the fully loaded version accounts for 10 percent of the cars sold, rather than the 4 percent the company predicted, he said.
"This is not a customer who is buying a car because it is cheap," Penske said. "People are interested in its urban friendliness and its fuel economy," he said. "It is the total of what we offer."
This might lead one to expect the car to be popular in L.A. and New York, and it is. "Los Angeles alone would be our number-one state in sales," Penske said.
But its appeal hasn't been limited to Hollywood stars and SoHo hipsters. "In Pittsburgh and places like that, the dealers are dying for the cars," he said.
All of the interest was generated by Smart's 50-city Road Show last year, which showed off the car in places like sporting events and retail outlets, said Penske.
The tour was so effective that the company's first two years' allotment is spoken for, reports Smart USA President David Schembri. Because of that, Smart will not engage in conventional advertising through the usual outlets, but will continue to engage in non-traditional brand-building activities, he said.
What this means to you: It's gonna be hard to get a Smart, even if you live someplace where you thought demand would be slower. — Dan Carney, Contributor
The Smart Fortwo is also selling more heavily laden with options than was expected, he added. The average Fortwo is equipped with $1,600 in options, or about 15 percent of the car's base price, and the fully loaded version accounts for 10 percent of the cars sold, rather than the 4 percent the company predicted, he said.
"This is not a customer who is buying a car because it is cheap," Penske said. "People are interested in its urban friendliness and its fuel economy," he said. "It is the total of what we offer."
This might lead one to expect the car to be popular in L.A. and New York, and it is. "Los Angeles alone would be our number-one state in sales," Penske said.
But its appeal hasn't been limited to Hollywood stars and SoHo hipsters. "In Pittsburgh and places like that, the dealers are dying for the cars," he said.
All of the interest was generated by Smart's 50-city Road Show last year, which showed off the car in places like sporting events and retail outlets, said Penske.
The tour was so effective that the company's first two years' allotment is spoken for, reports Smart USA President David Schembri. Because of that, Smart will not engage in conventional advertising through the usual outlets, but will continue to engage in non-traditional brand-building activities, he said.
What this means to you: It's gonna be hard to get a Smart, even if you live someplace where you thought demand would be slower. — Dan Carney, Contributor
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