Big Kobe's passion best fits smart's spirit
By Lydia Chen |
April 25, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AFTER becoming smart's brand ambassador to China in February, United States basketball star Kobe Bryant is featured as a key design element within smart's exhibition area at Auto Shanghai 2011, further illustrating the car's unrivaled mobility and interpreting the all-new "Big in the city" brand concept to Chinese consumers.
Adjacent to the Mercedes-Benz exhibition area, the exquisitely-designed smart showroom will dazzle in its unique way.
Eleven stylish cars are presented at the show, featuring a well-spaced layout, flowing seamlessly into the interaction area. Playing a leading role, Kobe's likeness is a prominently featured element within the display space. Kobe's image will accentuate each corner of the display area, in perfect concert with smart fortwo's signature trait.
"We chose him because he is not simply a NBA superstar, but also a model icon to young people in many ways," Bjoern Hauber, executive vice president for Sales & Marketing at Mercedes-Benz China, said. "This is the same about smart. smart is not just a car, it is the car that is so special in its segment."
"The attitudes audience see from Kobe is what we think best fit smart's image in China," Hauber said. "He has a huge heart and such great passion for life and his career, (and) these are the same things we want to express to our customers through smart."
Another key reason is definitely Kobe's impressive height of 1.98 meters.
"Yes, smart is short outside, but when you see even Kobe can sit comfortably inside smart, then you can understand how big it is inside," Stefan Herbert, head of smart operations at Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd, said.
"Let me remind you, there is even a lot of space left when Kobe sits there," he added.
smart showcases the limited edition smart "Rabbit," which is specifically designed for the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac in a bid to satisfy various demands, at the auto show.
smart's new concept car, the smart forspeed, makes its Asia debut, and introduces a new wave of eco-friendly innovations. The smart forspeed strengthens smart's clear positioning as an urban mobility solution by combining responsibility and emotional appeal in a new and pleasurable way. It not only expands the sporty style to the extreme, but also creates a trendsetting benchmark for next-generation transport solutions.
"So far, we have sold more than 1.2 million smart cars around the world since its introduction to the market in 1998," Hauber told a selected group of reporters during an interview on the sidelines of the Shanghai Auto Show.
"In the first quarter of this year, we've sold nearly 2,400 units of smart cars here in China, which is almost half of the sales last year and more than the whole of 2009," Hauber told the reporters.
Herbert also expressed his confidence in the future prospects of smart cars in China.
"More and more people are moving into big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai where people have to spend more and more time in traffic jams," Herbert said. "This ongoing trend thus represents a huge market potential for smart in China."
Herbert is confident that smart will continue to generate major important news in the China auto market.
Adjacent to the Mercedes-Benz exhibition area, the exquisitely-designed smart showroom will dazzle in its unique way.
Eleven stylish cars are presented at the show, featuring a well-spaced layout, flowing seamlessly into the interaction area. Playing a leading role, Kobe's likeness is a prominently featured element within the display space. Kobe's image will accentuate each corner of the display area, in perfect concert with smart fortwo's signature trait.
"We chose him because he is not simply a NBA superstar, but also a model icon to young people in many ways," Bjoern Hauber, executive vice president for Sales & Marketing at Mercedes-Benz China, said. "This is the same about smart. smart is not just a car, it is the car that is so special in its segment."
"The attitudes audience see from Kobe is what we think best fit smart's image in China," Hauber said. "He has a huge heart and such great passion for life and his career, (and) these are the same things we want to express to our customers through smart."
Another key reason is definitely Kobe's impressive height of 1.98 meters.
"Yes, smart is short outside, but when you see even Kobe can sit comfortably inside smart, then you can understand how big it is inside," Stefan Herbert, head of smart operations at Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd, said.
"Let me remind you, there is even a lot of space left when Kobe sits there," he added.
smart showcases the limited edition smart "Rabbit," which is specifically designed for the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac in a bid to satisfy various demands, at the auto show.
smart's new concept car, the smart forspeed, makes its Asia debut, and introduces a new wave of eco-friendly innovations. The smart forspeed strengthens smart's clear positioning as an urban mobility solution by combining responsibility and emotional appeal in a new and pleasurable way. It not only expands the sporty style to the extreme, but also creates a trendsetting benchmark for next-generation transport solutions.
"So far, we have sold more than 1.2 million smart cars around the world since its introduction to the market in 1998," Hauber told a selected group of reporters during an interview on the sidelines of the Shanghai Auto Show.
"In the first quarter of this year, we've sold nearly 2,400 units of smart cars here in China, which is almost half of the sales last year and more than the whole of 2009," Hauber told the reporters.
Herbert also expressed his confidence in the future prospects of smart cars in China.
"More and more people are moving into big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai where people have to spend more and more time in traffic jams," Herbert said. "This ongoing trend thus represents a huge market potential for smart in China."
Herbert is confident that smart will continue to generate major important news in the China auto market.
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