Product details

Smart is the youngest car maker in the world. The car, jointly developed by Swatch watches and DaimlerChrysler, was initially considered as a revolutionary car. The car was a 2-seater and measured only 2.5 meters. In order to overcome the space limitations, the company offered a ''mobility concept''. The car was to be sold through 100 exclusive Smart dealers across Europe. However, sales for this innovative concept were far behind expectations. Initial sales estimates of 140,000 units per year were soon reduced to 80,000 units. At times, even the revised goal posed a real challenge. Industry observers expected DaimlerChrysler to abandon the Smart. Instead, DaimlerChrysler started one last attempt to save the car by installing Mr Andreas Renschler as the new Chief Executive Officer in the fall of 1999. Renschler is one of the most promising managers of DaimlerChrysler and his task is to ''fix it''. The case describes the challenges Renschler has been facing since he took over. The market had changed from ecology-oriented to fun-oriented, the distribution system was considered inadequate and Mr Jurgen Schrempp, the Chief Executive Officer of DaimlerChrysler, was increasingly running out of patience about increasing losses at Smart. A video ''IMD-3-0768-V'' is available to accompany this case. This case was previously numbered 300-115-1.