Smart to sell Nissan-built car in U.S. in 2011

The U.S. distributor of Smart cars says it has a tentative deal with Nissan to sell a small, five-door car built by the Japanese automaker under the Smart brand, beginning in late 2011.

Smart USA Distributor LLC, which is owned by Roger Penske's Penske Automotive Group, said the car would be powered by a gasoline engine and fit the B-segment size class. The Nissan Versa is a B-size car in the Japanese automaker's U.S. lineup.

Smart USA released two sketches of its version of the car. The car in the sketches bear some similarity to the Nissan March, a small car built on the same platform as the Versa but not sold in the United States. Nissan sells the March in Japan and a similar car, badged the Micra, in other countries.

Nissan launched a new-generation March in July. It uses Nissan's new global V small-car platform. The Versa is scheduled to switch to that platform with a redesign for the 2013 model year. The Versa is built in Mexico.

The deal will give Smart USA a new product to counterbalance falling sales of its only current model, the Smart Fortwo, which is built by Daimler AG. Through September, Smart USA's sales of the Fortwo totaled 4,779 units, down 62 percent from the same period last year. Smart sales in the United States peaked at 24,662 units in 2008.

Nissan will build the Smart car at one of its plants in the Americas but isn't naming the plant, spokesman David Reuter said Wednesday.

Asked why Nissan does not want to sell this product in its dealerships, Reuter said: "The Smart product does not compete with the products Nissan sells in the U.S. marketplace. We cover a broad spectrum with our product lineup and are happy with what we have."

Smart USA spokesman Rick Bourgoise said the sketches show the styling direction of the new car but are not exact. He said the design of the car is a collaboration between Smart USA and Nissan.

Bourgoise stressed that the car is not a rebadging of a current Nissan product. It will use a Nissan platform but have unique Smart elements, he said.

Smart USA hasn't settled on a name for the car nor released pricing. Bourgoise said the car would be competitive with similar-sized vehicles but follow the fortwo pricing strategy of being in the middle to premium end of the range.

By Dale Jewett