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Mercedes-Benz announced the price of its new electric 2017 Smart Fortwo: $23,800 for the hard-top coupe and $28,000 for the cabrio with a sliding canvas roof. The new coupe\u2019s price is $1,200 less than the outgoing model, but the cabrio\u2019s price is exactly the same.<\/p>\n
Besides the price, there are some practical improvements for the new Fortwo EV. There are a few more batteries on board \u2014 96 lithium-ion cells versus the old 93 \u2014 though the battery capacity stays the same at 17.6 kWh. The on-board charger is more powerful, so the charging time drops in half, to three hours or less. The range gets a little bump from 68 miles to 70-80 miles, enough for daily urban commutes.<\/p>\n
The 2017 Smart Fortwo EV will be available in the United States this summer, but these tiny two-seaters have had a tough time finding a niche in America, the land of SUVs and wide roads. Parent company Daimler decided to discontinue sales<\/a> of gasoline-powered Smart cars in the States this year to focus on the EVs. It also decided to stop using Smart cars in its Car2Go<\/a> point-to-point car-sharing service, with Mercedes-Benz cars replacing fleets in the U.S. beginning in 2017.<\/p>\n Smart doesn\u2019t intend to compete with SUVs and pickup trucks, so who is the competition? The Tesla Model 3<\/a>, the forthcoming small (but not micro) car, will have a 215-mile range for $35,000. The Chevy Bolt<\/a> starts at $37,500 and has a range of more than 200 miles. The Volkswagen e-Golf<\/a> gets 83 miles per charge, which is similar to the Fortwo\u2019s range, but it starts at about $29,000 before tax incentives are applied. The new Hyundai Ioniq<\/a> has more miles per charge, at 124, but its price starts at $29,500.<\/p>\n So for shorter-range emissions-free commuting and errand-running, the Smart Fortwo is an inexpensive option. But for carrying more than two people \u2014 or if you have a near-crippling case of range anxiety \u2014 you\u2019ll need to pay more for one of the other EVs.<\/p>\n Featured Image: Mercedes-Benz<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Smart](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/05\/preview-928x522.jpg?w=680\")
Mercedes-Benz announced the price of its new electric 2017 Smart Fortwo: $23,800 for the hard-top coupe and $28,000 for the cabrio with a sliding canvas roof. The new coupe’s price is $1,200 less than the outgoing model, but the cabrio’s price is exactly the same. Besides the price, there are some practical improvements for the new Fortwo EV. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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