Pictured above: smart move… Karen and John Davies have joined the growing number of customers at smart of Nottingham, where they are now looked after by Shirleena Wood and Matt Barker (first and second left)

Customer service at smart of Nottingham is now twice as nice after the retailer doubled its sales team to meet demand for the iconic brand.

Shirleena Wood is now taking a more prominent role in the showroom after solely looking after marketing activity for the smart and Mercedes-Benz operation for the past 15 months. She will work alongside existing Sales Executive Matt Barker, who has helped smart of Nottingham to enjoy a successful year to date.

Orders are three per cent up on 2008 and the NG2 Business Park retailer has just handed over the keys of its 150th vehicle sold this year.

Whilst other vehicle manufacturers have struggled in the current economic climate, smart's low running costs have seen it flourish.

All of the fortwo coupe and cabrio models available offer incredible fuel economy, low emissions and reduced annual road fund licence costs. For example, the turbocharged cdi model returns a staggering 83.1mpg (combined) and is road tax exempt.

"smart's popularity is due to the fact that people are making concerted efforts to reduce their motoring costs and are accepting that they may not need a larger vehicle for their type of usage," explained Matt.

"Within the last few months we have sold a number of smarts to local and national businesses in particular," he added. "They have been attracted by the current finance campaign offer, which provides them with a company vehicle that they can run for an extremely low monthly payment and which they can livery and use as a mobile advertising hoarding to promote their business."

Commenting on her appointment, Shirleena added: "smart's growing appeal means it is an exciting time to work with the brand, especially as it coincides with some extensive specification improvements to the range that add even more value to a customer's purchase."