Demand for its predecessor outstripped Daimler’s initial planned production run of 1,000 vehicles. The new model will be sold in almost twice as many markets, with a five-figure production run of an unconfirmed size.

In Germany, the smart fortwo electric drive will be offered with packages to buy, finance or lease, either with or without the battery. Prices start at €18,910 for the coupe with battery rental at €65 per month, or €23,680 for the car with the battery included.

Dr. Annette Winkler, head of smart, commented: ‘With the new smart electric drive we are further expanding our leading position in urban mobility and making fully electric driving accessible to everyone. For this – and for the successor generation to the current smart – we are making significant investments in the Hambach site. And I am convinced that this is money extremely well invested.’

Hambach, which has manufactured the fortwo since 1998, has had a €200m investment to ready it for production of the new car, which also uses drivetrain components developed as a result of its recent joint venture with Bosch (EM-motive) and Evonik (Deutsche ACCUmotive), established in 2009.

Dr. Joachim Betker, head of the smart plant in Hambach, said: 'For the first time we have realised the consistent and perfectly integrated production of models with electric drive and those with combustion engines. In production, we are now optimally utilising the smart vehicle concept’s immanent potential for different drive systems.'