One million five hundred thousand cars. Any way you look at it, it’s a landmark production achievement for a car that redefined what was possible for an urban commuter. This milestone was represented by a white smart forwo electric drive cabrio. It was also one of the last vehicles to roll of the production line at Hambach, Lorraine, whose production will be paused for almost two months in July and August. This is due to renovations to large parts of the production installation, in anticipation of future production requirements.

The smart plant in Hambach was inaugurated in 1997 and has produced the smart fortwo since 1998. Approximately 1,500 people work at the site, consisting of about 800 employees at smart France itself, with the remaining workers employed at seven system partners on site. Last year, an expert jury from the French trade magazine ‘Usine Nouvelle’ awarded the plant with the “Trophée de l’Excellence Industrielle 2012” for its production and logistic efficiencies.

Said Dr. Joachim Betker, head of the smart Hambach plant, “The entire workforce of the Hambach plant is proud to have put 1.5 million smart fortwo vehicles on the road. Our unique location concept, our qualified and highly motivated workforce as well as our high production quality largely contribute to this success.”