Daimler to Begin Smart Sharing Test Program in Austin

Daimler to Begin Smart Sharing Test Program in Austin

Automaker Hopes To Rekindle Interest in Smart Cars With Short-Term Rentals

Austin, Texas, a university city with a wide and deep green streak, has been selected as home for a pilot project that Germany's Daimler hopes will reignite interest in its Smart Car.

Called car2go, the program will enable members to reserve a Smart ForTwo, use it for as long - or little- as needed and then park it and walk away - or return it to a designated drop off location in the city - so that other uses can pick it up.

It's a manufacturer-sponsored version of the short-term car sharing programs pioneered by ZipCar and a few others.

Car2go members pay by the minute and can reserve cars on-line of via telephone or can drop into a rental station and pick one up on the spur of the moment, Daimler says. Members are screened and given special radio frequency (RF) cards that unlock the cars and allow them to be driven. Use fees are automatically deducted from a credit card or checking account.

Daimler, which is holding a Web conference Tuesday to explain the program, launched car2go in Germany last year and charges the equivalent of 19 cents a minute, up to $73.40 for a full day.

U.S. pricing hasn't been announced.

Sales of the Smart - which are handled through a separate company, Penske Automotive Group - have fallen dramatically since the tiny car's explosive launch last year. From a high of 2.700 cars in May, 2008, monthly Smart sales dropped to just 661 in October.

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.