Clean Green Cars: All-electric smart ed gets green light in UK for 2012

All-electric smart ed gets green light in UK for 2012

smart ED - Click above for high-res image gallery

According to Channel 4 in the UK, the electric smart fortwo will be storming that country in full force by the year 2012. For what it’s worth (which is probably a lot to Daimler), that date coincides perfectly with the UK government’s plan to begin promoting electric vehicles with a range of incentives and subsidies worth £250 million.

By 2010, the electric smart should be in limited series production, featuring lithium ion battery packs supplied by Tesla. If early reports are to be believed, the cars will be available in the U.K. for roughly £150 per month, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than the current smart ED’s £375 per month lease payment.

At this point, there’s no indication of what kind of range or performance we should expect from these new second-generation electric smart fortwos. In addition to London, look for the electric smarts to show up in other major European cities like Paris, Milan and Rome.

Gallery: Detroit 2009: smart ed