Daimler has announced that its new electric Smart ForTwo will go into production from mid-November in France. “With our decision to locate production here at the parent plant in Hambach, we are setting the course both for series production of electric vehicles and for the future of this highly innovative assembly plant,” said Dieter Zetsche, Daimler chairman.

The car will use a 41hp electric motor driving the rear wheels just as the internal combustion version does. The electric Smart should be able to get to 60 kmph in 5.7s and max out at 112 kmph. A full charge should allow the driver to go about 120 km before plugging back in to a standard (in Europe) 230V outlet.

The company has chosen 14kWh li-ion battery pack that will power a 30kW electric motor (120 N•m of torque) located at the rear of the car. There is no official information about the price of the car. Moreover the operating costs for the car are quite attractive. “Based on German electricity prices it costs approximately two Euros to drive the Smart ForTwo electric drive for 100 kilometre,” says Daimler. It also expects tax rebates in some countries that should be able to bring the cost of the car lower and make it more competitive. The first few units of the car will go to selected leasing customers for four years /60,000 kms in Berlin.