In a statement, smart boss Annette Winkler said: ‘Smart fortwo and smart forfour had a strong start in the market at the end of November. In 2015 we will be upping the ante: with the global market launch, with our fully automatic dual clutch transmission and with a broadening of the engine range to cover six versions.

‘Smart is the brand that pushes urban mobility and thereby sets the benchmarks. With extremely compact and agile models, the electric drive, the car2go car-sharing programme and many valuable features to make daily life easier, especially to facilitate parking. Thus, smart is far more than just a car.’

The brand is also ramping up for the market premieres of the new smart generation in the USA and China in 2015. In the United States, almost one in four smart sold was an electric drive in the last year. 

Meanwhile five years after the brand’s launch in China, the country is already became the second-largest sales market for the smart fortwo in 2014, directly after Germany.

‘In 2014, we planned lower worldwide sales due to the ramp up of our new models and reached our goals. In 2015 we will be launching the new models in our most important markets outside of Europe, and in 2016 we aim to build on this and play an instrumental role in shaping mobility and life in the world's cities on a sustained and sustainable basis,’ added Annette Winkler.