smart · 1998–2024

smart Fortwo

The Smart Fortwo (stylized as "smart fortwo") is a two-seater city car manufactured and marketed by the Smart division of the Mercedes-Benz Group for model years 1998–2024. The car was sold across three generations — each using a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and a (generally) one-box design body shape. Much like the original Volkswagen Beetle decades earlier, the Smart car's identity is interchangeably associated with both its brand name and its model name. The first generation Smart ForTwo (a joint venture project between Mercedes-Benz and Swatch) was internally designated as the W450, and was publicly launched at the 1998 Paris Motor Show. The redesigned (but visually similarly-shaped) second generation W451 would debut 8 years later, at the 2006 Bologna Motor Show. The third (and currently final) generation Fortwo was the C453 build series. It debuted globally on July 16, 2014, at the Tempodrom in Berlin. The third generation coupe and convertible debuted along with a closely related four-door version. While the four door carried the previously-used Smart Forfour name, this generation of smart cars was actually co-developed (sharing the same platform and engines) with the third-generation Renault Twingo. The ForTwo was marketed in 46 countries worldwide, allowing production to reach 1.7 million units by early 2015, and going on to surpass 2 million units globally, before end of 3rd generation production. The Smart moniker was derived as a portmanteau of three words from the project's early history as a cooperative design and engineering venture between Swatch and Mercedes resulting in the words: Swatch, Mercedes, and ART merging to simply become 'Smart'. The Fortwo model nameplate derives from the vehicle's two-person seating capacity. (In much of the marketing up until 2002 however, the Fortwo had been marketed as the "Smart City-Coupé"). Following this theme, the larger Smart car received the "ForFour" name, to emphasize that model's intended size/capacity. A low-slung, somewhat related Roadster/coupe-style car, simply called the (R452/C452) 'Smart Roadster' was also produced early on in the 2000s, but it did not sell in great volumes and did not see a second generation. A mechanically unrelated and even larger 4-door off-road/crossover Smart was designed and developed in-house by Mercedes, and may or may not have been based on the then-outgoing W203 C-class platform. This vehicle (called the Smart "ForMore") was ultimately canceled at the last moment, due to a number of factors, including but not limited to the 2008 financial crisis.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UK fuel mix: —. Records from the VCA fuel & emissions archive.

Model years

Generations & variants

Smart Fortwo

1998–2024

Smart Fortwo (W450)

Smart Fortwo (W451)

Photos

UK vehicles on the road

53,479 licensed and 4,702 SORN (58,181 total) at 2025 Q4.

DfT/DVLA VEH0120 vehicle licensing statistics, source ↗, Open Government Licence v3.0. Small counts are rounded or suppressed at source.

US NHTSA safety ratings

NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (US government, public domain). US-market versions; not the same tests as Euro NCAP.

US safety recalls

• 20V107000 2020-02-24 · model years 2019 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY

  Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling one 2019 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive vehicle. A welded joint within the high-voltage battery main cell conductors may detach and interrupt electrical contact, resulting in sudden battery failure. The detached weld may also cause an electrical arc which can ignite inside the…

  Remedy: MBUSA will notify the owner, and a dealer will replace the high-voltage battery, free of charge. The recall began May 8, 2020. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's number for this recall…

• 18V273000 2018-04-27 · model years 2008, 2009 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

  Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2008-2009 smart fortwo cabrio and fortwo coupe vehicles. The rear insulation mat in the engine compartment may deform, deteriorate, and loosen over time, allowing the mat to contact hot exhaust system components.

  Remedy: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear insulation mat with an improved one, free of charge. The recall began in July 2018. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's number…

• 17V448000 2017-07-16 · model years 2016 PARKING BRAKE

  Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2016 smart fortwo vehicles. In these vehicles, the lock nut that secures the parking brake cable to the parking brake lever may loosen over time, resulting in increased parking brake lever travel before the parking brake engages.

  Remedy: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the parking brake cable lock nut, free of charge. The recall began September 20, 2017. Owners may contact smart customer service at 1-877-496-3691.

• 17V447000 2017-07-14 · model years 2017 STEERING

  Mercedes-Benz USA LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2017 smart fortwo and smart fortwo Cabriolet vehicles. Casting imperfections may result in the failure of the left front axle steering knuckle.

  Remedy: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the left front axle steering knuckle, replacing any from the affected batch, free of charge. The recall October 13, 2017. Owners may contact smart customer service at…

• 17V179000 2017-03-16 · model years 2016 EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

  Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2016 Smart Fortwo vehicles. The horizontal headlight adjustment mechanism on these vehicles may not have been properly sealed off to prevent future adjustment. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard…

  Remedy: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will install the correct sealing caps to prevent the headlights from being adjusted horizontally, free of charge. The recall began September 8, 2017. Owners may contact MBUSA…

• 15V192000 2015-03-31 · model years 2014, 2015 STEERING

  Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Smart Fortwo Coupes and Convertibles, and 2014 Fortwo Coupe Electric and Fortwo Convertible Electric vehicles. The affected vehicles have steering gear mounting bolts which may break during vehicle operation.

  Remedy: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear mounting bolts, free of charge. The recall began on May 8, 2015. Owners may contact Smart customer service at 1-800-762-7887.

NHTSA recalls database (US government, public domain). Recalls apply to US-market vehicles; check the manufacturer for your country.

US EPA fuel-economy records

US EPA test figures (US MPG, US test cycle), fueleconomy.gov ↗, US government public domain.

Sources

• Wikidata / Wikipedia profiles — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/cars/Q834494CC0 / CC BY-SA 4.0
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_FortwoCC BY-SA 4.0 · Intro text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1377360967 · retrieved 2026-10-03
• UK Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) fuel & emissions data — https://carfueldata.vehicle-certification-agency.gov.uk/Open Government Licence v3.0
• DfT/DVLA VEH0120 licensing statistics — https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-licensing-statistics-data-tablesOpen Government Licence v3.0
• US EPA / DOE FuelEconomy.gov — https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ws/index.shtmlUS Government public domain
• NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings API — https://api.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatingsUS Government public domain
• NHTSA recalls database — https://www.nhtsa.gov/recallsUS Government public domain
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

More from smart