Electric Smart Buzzes into Europe for €16,000 in 2012

In a move that seems entirely obvious, Smart will be putting an electric motor in the Smart Fortwo. Mercedes-Benz says that the electric car will retail for less than €16,000 in Germany, but the battery rental costs about €60 a month.

The electric Smart is powered by a 55kW electric motor with a top speed of just over 120km/h. The electric Smart accelerates to 100km/h in less than 13 seconds and takes around 5 seconds to get to 60km/h. Range is 140km. Charging time from totally empty to completely full in 8 hours, and can be done in less in you buy the optional rapid charger.

If you are interested in the electric Smart, you can reserve one online at www.smart.com as of the fourth quarter of this year.