BERLIN (AP) -- Daimler AG is seeing very strong demand for its Smart ultracompact car in the United States, the automaker's CEO said in comments published Wednesday.
Smart, a division of Daimler's Mercedes-Benz brand, began selling the two-seater cars — long a familiar sight on Europe's streets — in January in the United States.
"We are on a very good track with the Smart," Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche was quoted as telling Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine.
"We cannot currently satisfy the demand in the USA in any way, but we must try to understand how sustainable this massive demand overhang there is," Zetsche was quoted in the magazine.
He did not give figures, but said there are "no concrete plans at the moment" to expand capacity. However, "if the situation remains as it is or demand rises even further, we must consider it."
The Smart is produced in Hambach, France. Zetsche was quoted as saying that "if we consider an expansion, I can imagine that North America would be an option."
Shares of Daimler fell 9.4 percent to close at 24.83 euros ($33.96) in Frankfurt.
