Sergio Marchionne has ignited talk that the Fiat 500 could be set to arrive in the USA, after confirming that they were closely monitoring the stateside launch of the Smart Fortwo. Mercedes is in the process of launching the new generation 'city car' Smart Fortwo in the United States, and is reportedly highly pleased with the progress it has made.

Sergio Marchionne has ignited talk that the Fiat 500 could be set to arrive in the USA, after confirming that they were closely monitoring the stateside launch of the Smart Fortwo. "We are observing the Smart phenomenon in the US. We'll see how it goes. Technically we are ready," Italian daily newspaper la Stampa reported Marchionne as saying.

Mercedes is in the process of launching the new generation 'city car' Smart Fortwo in the United States and is reportedly highly pleased with the progress it has made. Media test drives are now underway, and the Fortwo will arrive in the brand new dealer network in January 2008. Mercedes believes it is are onto a winner: The Smart Fortwo is the right car, at the right time for U.S. Drivers," says Mercedes. "Americans are faced with volatile fuel prices, increased urban congestion and a mindset of environmental responsibility. The Smart Fortwo offers a high level of comfort, agility, safety and ecology. Its unique features and attributes meet consumer wishes now and well into the 21st century," they add.

More that 770,000 first generation Smart Fortwo models have been sold in Europe since its launch in 1998, and the new version is now expected to mirror this progress in the USA. In the context of the US market Smart is also redefining the distribution concept. This includes the new Smart Center San Francisco. Roger Penske and Penske Automotive Group (PAG) will serve as the official distributor for the Smart Fortwo beginning in 2008. This partnership is unique and also demonstrates forward-thinking on the part of Smart.

The Smart Fortwo has been embraced in the States long before the first vehicles are expected to arrive in the showrooms - says Mercedes - The 24 week Smart USA “street smart” road show has been touring the USA since May with three display trailers, test drive vehicles and product specialists presenting the Fortwo from coast to coast. To date, the road show has attracted and convinced 65,000 visitors. The road show will wrap up in days and once completed is expected to have reached over 75,000 people in more than 50 cities across the United States. The presentation of the brand and the road show have been very well received by the U.S. consumers and the American press. In many cities across the country, consumers waited in line for over an hour to test drive a Fortwo. Many waited in temperatures over 100°F whilst others drove over 3 hours to attend a smart road show event. In the end road show surveys indicated the Fortwo met or exceeded expectations. For example, in Las Vegas people waited patiently for an hour in temperatures of 104°F to test drive the cars in the parking garage of the Fashion Show Mall. Some even went straight back to the end of the queue again after the short jaunt in order to drive it one more time.

Over 30,000 Americans have placed a US$99 deposit on a smart Fortwo. Dealers will begin to fill orders in January 2008. Smart USA’s website - www.smartusa.com - has received over 3 million visits since June 2006, over 95,000 people have signed up as smart “insiders” and visitors spend an average of over five minutes on the site. The reaction of dealers has also been overwhelming: Smart USA received more than 1400 applications. Although many were qualified, only a few were selected. Approximately 70 carefully selected dealerships will sell the car in 2008 in major cities across the United States.

This impressive interest in the Smart brand launch is being closely monitored by Marchionne as he considered a stateside future for the 500, which is defying even the most optimistic of pre-launch predictions. Fiat and Daimler AG (the parent of Smart) are currently involved in exploratory talks across a number of areas, including to possibility of platform sharing. Launched on 4th July, the 500 has become a modern-day runway success story, with its order book now standing at around 100,000 units, and with production at the Tychy plant in Poland set to be ramped up to 190,000 units per year to cope with the unexpected demand. This demand has seen plans for an Abarth-badged version of the 500 being put back to next year.

Marchionne has also emphasised the importance of the Alfa Romeo 'Junior' project to the brand's US re-launch. The Grande Punto-platform based 'Junior' will be unveiled to the world at the Geneva Motor Show next March, and it is being positioned as a rival to BMW's MINI as well as Audi's forthcoming A1. Fiat "created it [the Junior] for this objective [the USA]," Marchionne told la Stampa. "It is one of the models that we are assessing to export," he added.