(April 13, 3015) STUTTGART, Germany — Statistics are boring? Not for smart, because when it comes to new registrations of electric cars in Germany the same name takes first place every year: smart fortwo electric drive. This is a hat trick for the battery-electric two-seater — for the third time in a row it has beaten all competitors with all-electric drive.

In 2014 there were 1,665 new registrations, and with more than 4,700 new registrations since the first generation in 2007 — according to figures from the German Federal Motor Vehicle Registration Agency — the e-smart is Germany's most successful electric car by far. It is also very popular among Daimler AG employees who have covered more than 1.5 million zero-emission kilometers to date within the framework of the electric mobility project "charge @ work".

2012 saw the launch of the third-generation smart fortwo electric drive and since then it has been convincing customers in cities around the world. It is now available in 19 countries, with Norway as the most recent new market.

Electric cars are really green when they are powered by green electricity. Since 2012 Daimler has been setting an example with a pilot project: the company's own wind turbine supplies renewably generated electricity. This investment ensures that all smart fortwo electric drives in the current generation drive on German roads with zero emissions. 

In addition to environmental compatibility, the e-smart scores points with driving pleasure as well. It sprints from 0 to 60 km/h (37 mph) in 4.8 seconds, with maximum output of 74 horsepower and torque of 96 pound-feet ensuring a powerful start at traffic lights. And its range of 90 miles will take it far beyond the city limits when needed.

Stuttgart's dense network of public charging stations is there for a good reason. This is where Germany's largest purely electric car sharing fleet is at home with 500 smart fortwo electric drives. At present there are approximately 13,000 car2go vehicles on the roads of 29 towns and cities in Europe and North America – 1,300 thereof with battery-electric drive.  There are purely electric fleets in Stuttgart in Germany, Amsterdam in the Netherlands and San Diego in the U.S. In these three cities car2go customers have already driven more than 11 million miles powered purely by electricity.