Exciting Smyth Changes for 2025
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The success of Smyth Performance has been made possible by thousands of people who’ve built a kit, enjoyed it, and helped us spread the word about these awesome projects.
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Want to be a repeat Builder in 2025? Over half our sales is to people building for others.
Our builder network is a loose one. This isn't a super pro group of shops with huge garages devoted to 4 builds at once. It is more of a small group of enthusiasts and pros alike that are very talented with hot rods and custom car builds. Some have done Factory Five Racing or other kits, some are full-time body shops that keep a Smyth kit on hand for the guys to work on when it is slow. We Smyth builders have fun hanging out at the big shows, talking about tips and tricks on the Smyth Ute Tech Support page on Facebook and generally just staying active with our talents. We make these wild Smyth Utes for ourselves and people that love to have a car with real character.
Attending car shows, spending fun time in the garage with their friends/family, these are the core car goals of the talented lifestyle pro builder.
The drivers of change: Finished car demand soars.
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We rely on advertising, word-of-mouth and organic social media to reach our DIY kit car customers.
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More buyers than ever for finished Utes, higher costs than ever for consumer DIY kits…we know where to move the business as even the DIY buyer wants a finished car sometimes. $25,000 turn key customer cars look like a bargain compared to boring 50 grand production vehicles and overpriced hot rod customs at way over 100 grand. We can even keep prices lower when we ship 2 or 3 at a time to a win/win.
Why do we want to limit production and free up our schedule in 2025? The 'Smaller and Better' strategy
​We want to build more Utes that no one’s ever seen before and attend car shows with our friends in the Smyth community. We’ll spend time filming and our new projects and give the car world some good fun build options. YouTube is a large part of our future and wild builds are the ticket. Selling fewer kits makes a ton of sense.
It is not lost on me that a big change in the market is how we got into Utes in the first place.
In 2015, the Volkswagen diesel scandal ruined the idea of diesels in the consumer’s mind, shredding our sales of the 50 mpg Jetta-based sports car kit that started Smyth Performance in 2012. The Smyth G3F was a kit that turned the diesel Volkswagen Jetta into a true one design mid-engine sports car. People were surprised when we stopped its production and focused on these mini truck conversions that we all enjoy to this day. "Adapt or Die" right?
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Above all, enjoy the process whatever your timeline. 'Smaller and Better' is about getting back to fun in the factory and doing quality kits that have provided countless hours of unique building and driving joy. It is a true forever car once built. The Smyth community at large has taken our kits and created quite the fun brand with fabulous cars that will continue to be built by those who understand the joy of driving a car with character. Please share your builds and pictures with me as we keep living the life of home built rides.
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Mark Smith