Good grew to become synonymous with tiny however well-engineered metropolis automobiles, and its most iconic mannequin is what grew to become often called the ForTwo. Three generations and 26 years of steady manufacturing because the ForTwo’s debut in 1998, and Good pulled the plug on the mannequin in 2024, however it’s seeking to ultimately launch a substitute.
Good modified its focus after it grew to become a 50/50 three way partnership between its authentic proprietor, Mercedes-Benz, and China’s Geely in 2019. Now the objective is to take the model upmarket and make bigger and dearer fashions like the #1, #3 and #5 electrical crossovers, and there doesn’t appear to be as massive a enterprise case for tiny metropolis two-seaters like the Fortwo.
The Good Fortwo could return, however most likely to not the US
Good bought the Fortwo within the US till 2019 when gross sales of the mannequin had fallen to a couple hundred items. Even when Good revives the mannequin, we do not assume it will likely be introduced again to the US the place consumers appear to want bigger automobiles even for city driving.
Nevertheless, there’s a cause why Good is skipping the #2 identify for now: it will likely be utilized in a future revival of the Fortwo (pictured). Autocar talked to Good Europe CEO Dirk Adelmann, who revealed the corporate’s intention to convey again the pint-sized two-seater however stopped wanting confirming its arrival.
Adelmann mentioned, “We’re engaged on that one. The run-out of the present Fortwo was two months in the past, now. It might have been nice to have a direct successor – we do not, however we’re engaged on it.” He went on to clarify that Good doesn’t imagine there’s sufficient demand to justify the corporate investing in a platform that it might solely use for this one mannequin.
10 Photographs
This sort of automobile would solely actually be fashionable in Europe, however even when it’s a comparatively massive market, it nonetheless wouldn’t generate sufficient demand for Good to do it alone. He famous that “the most effective 12 months for Fortwo was round 100,000 items, and that is not sufficient to justify a platform,” concluding that “in the event you share this platform with companions—we’re nonetheless in analysis—then you can even share the funding prices and the manufacturing website etcetera, and it begins making sense. We need to have a optimistic enterprise case for us, for our retailers and ultimately for our prospects.”
All new fashions revealed underneath Geely’s part-ownership have been constructed atop the Chinese language firm’s SEA (Sustainable Expertise Structure) platform, which has a number of variants and is utilized in Volvo, Polestar, Zeekr and even Lotus EVs like the brand new Emeya that we not too long ago drove. The latter employs probably the most feature-packed model of the platform, which known as Electrical Premium Structure (EPA), nevertheless it’s also called SEA-P (the place the P stands for Premium).
Geely doesn’t have a model of the SEA platform that might be an appropriate match for a Good Fortwo-sized automobile, so it’s in search of a accomplice to provide one. To remain true to the spirit of the unique Fortwo, the brand new one must be rear-wheel drive, however there are at the moment no rear-wheel drive EV platforms for automobiles this small.
Launching a Fortwo successor isn’t a precedence for Good proper now, as it’s seeking to bolster its lineup with crossovers which might be a lot greater and dearer than any earlier automobile to put on the Good badge. The producer makes use of odd numbers for crossovers, whereas even numbers are reserved for coupe-like crossovers and different non-crossover fashions like town automobile.
