The Smart brand is being powered down in Canada and the United States. Mercedes-Benz Canada has confirmed that sales of the tiny car, which is currently sold only as a battery-powered electric vehicle, will end at the end of the 2019 model year.

In a statement, the company cited “a number of factors, including a declining microcar market in the U.S. and Canada, combined with high homologation costs for a low-volume model.”

Mercedes-Benz will continue its electric strategy with new EQ models, which will initially arrive in Canada with the new EQC in 2020.

Smart initially launched in 1998 as a joint venture of Daimler-Benz and watch company Swatch – resulting in a tiny city car with replaceable coloured plastic body panels that could be switched out to change the car’s appearance, like a Swatch. The cars used a three-cylinder, 800-cc diesel engine, rated at just 40 horsepower, when they arrived in Canada in 2004.

They didn’t arrive in the United States until 2008, when the powertrain switched to a three-cylinder gasoline engine. They were initially imported by United Auto Group, owned by Roger Penske, who transferred the distribution rights back to Mercedes-Benz in 2011.

The car’s best sales years were shortly after its Canadian introduction, and declined after that. An electric EQ version was added for 2014, and for 2018, the Smart lineup of coupe and cabriolet dropped its gasoline engine and went strictly electric. Range was approximately 130 kilometres on a charge, which also limited its appeal when other electrics were offering much longer driving distances.

Only 368 Smarts were sold in Canada in 2017, and that dropped to just 345 in 2018. The little car should carry on in other markets, though. Daimler recently announced a joint venture with Zhejiang Geely to build the electric Smart in China, with sales beginning in 2022.

In both Canada and the U.S., Mercedes-Benz will continue to provide service and replacement parts for gasoline and electric versions through authorized dealers.