The smart plant in Hambach, France, was built in 1994 and since then, it has stood for the successful story of an innovative production concept. It has certainly set high standards in the automotive industry and it continues to do so.
20 years ago, the board of management of the former Daimler-Benz AG took one of the most important decisions in the history of smart brand – Hambach from the French region of Lorraine was chosen as the production site. 1,6 million smart fortwo vehicles have been handed to clients until today; the new smart fortwo has been produced since July 2014.
The Hambach plant is also referred to “smartville” and this is explained by an aerial view of the site. It has a total size of 68 hectares, out of which 17,5 hectares represents only the central smart building area. The central building houses the final assembly and it is shaped like a plus sign. In the middle of the plus sign the plant’s administrative functions are located. A constant eye contact with the production is possible thanks to an inner courtyard.
The company has invested almost 200 million euros for producing the new smart fortwo in Hambach. The further development of the production concept required large changes in terms of construction, especially in 2013. 33.000 square meters were added and, last year, a new highly modern paint shop began operating. This led to significant increases in processing time and the available variety of paint colours. Altogether, the modernization of the Hambach plant increased the production flexibility: the new smart fortwo and variants based on its predecessor will be produced on the same line.
The company has invested almost 200 million euros for producing the new smart fortwo in Hambach
The smart Hambach plant has a close collaboration with the Renault plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, because there is produced the smart forfour, All vehicles of the new smart generation fully meet all the standard quality of the brand, thanks to the involvement and dedication of experts from Hambach.
Today, the smart brand is present in 46 markets all around the world and the latest market launch was in Russia, Germany, Italy and China – the three largest markets according to the sales numbers.
Both versions of the new smart will be available at dealerships in Europe starting November 22, 2014.