>> smart mourns: Nicolas G. Hayek

>> smart mourns
Nicolas G. Hayek

With great grief smart received the news about the death of entrepreneur Nicolas G. Hayek. With his idea for a visionary small car he had a considerable share in introducing the revolutionary smart on the market in 1998. Hayek died the day before yesterday aged 82 in Biel/Switzerland.

Marc Langenbrinck, Managing Director smart brand and Head of Sales & Marketing at smart says "With Nicolas G. Hayek we lose a pioneer who provided inspiration for the smart product and brand with his vision of sustainable mobility. His intuition for trends and his great idea laid the essential foundations for the development of the smart fortwo and he will remain inseparable from the success of the brand."

Nicolas G. Hayek's idea had a decisive influence on the development of the smart. In 1989 Nicolas G. Hayek, the inventor of the Swatch watch, announced plans to launch a small city car on the market. The car of the future should appeal to people as a statement rather than a status symbol. Hayek then sought an experienced partner for the quick and successful realisation of the project. The combination of Mercedes-Benz's vast experience in building cars coupled with Swatch's creative powers brought together two ideal partners for this project. The cooperation resulted in a unique vehicle concept and a new automobile brand: smart.