MERCEDES’s miniature Smart car is winning hearts and minds in the land of the gas-guzzler.

Last week, Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler and its Mercedes-Benz and Smart car division, presented the latest Smart ForTwo to politicians and administrators in Washington.

Smart has had a six-month sales tour around the US and has focused its campaign on the internet, inviting $99 deposits. More than 30,000 people signed up and so far more than 90% have converted these deposits into firm orders.

Spurred on by the success of BMW’s Mini in America, Mercedes decided to launch the new Smart model there in 2008 and gave the franchise to the Penske Automotive Group, run by motor tycoon Roger Penske.

The entry price of $11,590 (£5,500) is significantly lower than in Europe.

Penske originally estimated US sales at 16,000 per year, but at the current order rate Mercedes will have difficulty meeting US demand. It’s a good problem for Smart to have – not long ago it was losing money and Daimler considered closing it. Now, said Zetsche, Smart has turned the corner: “It’s profitable, but not highly profitable.” Mercedes had been expected to link with another manufacturer for its next generation of small cars, ranging from the Smart to the Mercedes A-class and B-class.

It had been in discussions with Fiat and arch-rival BMW, but last week Zetsche scotched any idea of wholesale cooperation. He said: “We discovered that those who make cheap cars don’t make them as cheaply as we thought and that others simply didn’t match our engineering standards. It’s 90% certain that we will go it alone with the next generation of small cars, but perhaps we will share some components with other manufacturers.”

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