Stuttgart. smart is supplementing its mobility offering with additional, customer-friendly services. As well as the cooperations with APCOA and Europcar that have already been announced, smart drivers will also be able to take advantage of the benefits at the innovative car sharing provider car2go. smart is extending its extensive urban mobility portfolio under the title “smart add-on” – initially in Germany, then in other European countries. The cooperation between smart, car2go, Europcar and APCOA will ensure that smart drivers enjoy even faster, cheaper and more flexible mobility in future.
In the summer, car2go launched intercity roaming between Cologne, Düsseldorf, Berlin and Hamburg. With the launch of “smart add-on” in November, a whole package of further benefits will be introduced for smart drivers including exclusive services in many car parks, special offers on rental cars and free, simplified registration for car2go. In addition to preferential terms, the new mobility services offer straightforward, convenient and time-saving use of various smart-related services.
As smart boss Dr. Annette Winkler points out: “According to recent studies, drivers find a parking space 40% more quickly with a smart than with a traditional four-seater vehicle. Our new smart add-on services complement this unique advantage perfectly, thus making our customers’ lives a little easier and saving them additional stress, money and, above all, time.”
Linking the ultra-compact smart with services that complement its dimensions was already on the agenda when the smart was launched back in 1998. Accordingly, special three-metre parking spaces are available for smart cars in various countries, as are special rates on certain ferries and other services. The launch of smart add-on takes these services one step further, allowing customers straightforward usage via an internet portal. To begin with, smart add-on will be offering customers in Germany mobility advantages in three categories:
Simple car sharing with car2go
As well as an extensive range of rental vehicles and free participation in car2go roaming in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Düsseldorf, car2go will offer free registration to smart customers in future. This means that smart customers can make use of the advantages of the smart fortwo in many German cities without having to pay registration fees or follow time-consuming registration procedures. In fact, all they have to do to register is to log in at smart.com/add-on followed by a one-time visit to a car2go shop – showing smart vehicle registration papers identifying them as a smart driver.
Time-saving parking with APCOA
The cooperation between smart and APCOA offers smart fortwo drivers flexible parking. No more having to look for small change before exiting, no more worrying about losing the parking ticket and no more queuing at pay machines. As part of the new service, smart fortwo drivers will receive a chip that identifies their vehicle when they enter and leave the car park. This RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip is simply affixed to the windscreen and can be fitted free of charge by any authorised smart dealer. Customers can register for the service online at smart.com/add-on. This makes it far easier to enter and exit car parks: the barrier opens automatically and there is no need to take a ticket or pay at the machine. The RFID chip even allows smart fortwo drivers to enter car parks when the display indicates that they are “full”! Parking fees are charged automatically via credit card or direct debit, whichever the customer prefers. There is also a 15% discount on all parking fees incurred by smart drivers.
As Peter Schneck, Managing Director of APCOA Autoparking GmbH, puts it: “APCOA offers comprehensive urban parking services at very central locations. smart is synonymous with perfect urban mobility and simple, stress-free parking. So this cooperation is a logical and ideal way to link the two urban brands.”
The cooperation with APCOA will initially start in selected car parks in Stuttgart, Esslingen, Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf. Further cities in Germany and Europe will follow.
Convenient vehicle rental at Europcar
“The smart is a great vehicle concept, especially in urban areas. On the rare occasions when more seats or more transportation space are needed, we will be at hand with our rental fleet”, says Roland Keppler, CEO of the Europcar Group. “The extremely wide Europcar portfolio offers smart customers the right mode of transport for almost every occasion, which means that it is the ideal complement for everyday needs.”
smart customers can use the “Privilege Ready Service” express service in all Europcar branches, which allows them to save time when collecting and returning vehicles – offering real added value with flexibility and spontaneity. In addition, all participating smart drivers are given a 20% discount on the entire fleet at Europcar’s worldwide network of offices. smart drivers can register online at smart.com/add-on, identifying themselves with the vehicle identification number of their own smart. After registering, smart customers are sent Europcar’s “Privilege Card” by post. The offer will initially be launched in Germany, with other countries to follow at a later stage.
