The model year 2022 is here - the forfour is gone, the fortwo is no longer being developed

First the obvious: the forfour has been canceled. As it became known months ago, the production of the smart EQ forfour will be phased out. It was meant to run off the production line until the end of 2021 and then be discontinued. Later media reports then confirmed that production will still run a bit in to 2022. The reason for this is the chip shortage due to the ongoing pandemic. This had slowed down production so that not all orders could be processed in 2021.

In addition, the forfour has now also been removed from the online configurator and price list. But it has not has not been available to order since the beginning of September 2021.

The smart Brabus GmbH is coming to an end

As it became known in the course of the year, the smart Brabus GmbH was dissolved. It was responsible for all kinds of great and unique special editions. Furthermore, it also brought the perfect customization that many customers wanted. The so-called tailermade program was discontinued at the end of May 2021 and the special editions ran up to the BRABUS 92R - SMART EQ FORTWO CABRIO, which will probably be the last Brabus tuned smart 453.

With the model maintenance, all individually selectable Brabus equipment is now officially off the price list. This applies to rims, body panels, their associated package and all tailor-made options.

New color and equipment combination for discontinued models

After all, there is a new color: "sapphire blue metallic", this replaces the well-known "midnight blue" color. Furthermore, the rain and light sensor from the Exclusive package slips into the Passion, Line pulse, as well as Prime line. Apparently there is also a visual change in the Schuko charging cable. From a technical point of view, however, it should continue to work in the same way. We will have to wait and see what that means.

Unfortunately, that was it with the classic changes. Last but not least, I have to say that the Ready2 package is no longer available. It was discontinued without replacement. In the smart eMotion forum it is theorized that this is related to the deactivation of 3G and that smart does not want to adapt the corresponding module. For customers who have already installed the module, this probably means that the service will be discontinued in 2024.

My conclusion

The forfour has already been phased out and, according to media reports, it will not get a replacement. The current fortwo is now slowly being phased out. It is still being built in it's original factory in Hambach. However, this now belongs to Ineos, who continue to manufacture it on behalf of smart. Accordingly, it is also clear that this will not last forever. Personally, I suspect that it will be built till the end of 2024. However, I assume it will not receive any more noteworthy updates during this period.

With this, smart paves the way for the transition to the new smart brand under the smart Automobile Co., Ltd. As I was assured at the IAA, there will be a successor fortwo.