THE long-awaited introduction of the micro smart car to the UK will take place in the second half of this year, with corporate customers high on the manufacturer's wanted list. MCC smart (Micro Compact Car smart) is part of the DaimlerChrysler group and has had a chequered history including an on-off arrival in the UK.

However, a company spokesman said in Geneva that he hoped the smart car would be on sale in the UK from the autumn, although a number of issues still had to be resolved, including right-hand drive availability and where the cars would be sold - possibly through 'smart centres' or through Mercedes-Benz outlets. Currently there is no official smart representation in the UK.

At Geneva, the smart range of 600cc two-seater vehicles had been expanded from the petrol-engined city coupe to include the smart cdi and the smart cabrio, which goes on sale this month. While the smart cabrio has the same powertrain as the city coupe, the smart cdi has an 800cc diesel engine returning fuel consumption of 3.4 litres per 100 kilometres and a CO2 figure of 90g/km.