The new junior two-seater smart model will receive index #2, its own electric vehicle platform is being developed for it.
This year the smart brand is celebrating its 25th anniversary as part of a series of events called smart times. The events take place mainly in China, as this is the main market for smart today. Let us recall that initially the smart brand was the brainchild of the German concern Daimler-Benz (now the Mercedes-Benz Group), its first model was the two-seater subcompact fortwo, production of which began in 1998 at a new plant in Ambach, France (today it belongs to the British company Ineos Automotive ).
Under the management of Mercedes-Benz, the smart brand did not achieve any significant commercial success and in 2019 it was relaunched as part of an equal joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely, called smart Automobile. In this joint venture, Geely is engaged in the development and production of new smart models, and Mercedes-Benz only oversees their design, that is, in fact, smart has become one of the subsidiary brands of the Chinese holding. Smart is now a strictly electric car brand; new models will not have internal combustion engines.
smart #1 < p>The first smart model after the relaunch was the subcompact crossover smart #1, which debuted in April last year. It is based on the modular SEA platform developed by Geely, which was also received by the slightly larger coupe-shaped crossover smart #3, which premiered in April of this year. It turns out that 2023 is the first full year of smart work with the new model range; in the first three quarters in China, according to CAAM, 33,654 smart electric vehicles were sold – a very good start. In the same year, the smart brand said goodbye to the old model range, the last representative of which was the two-seater electric car EQ fortwo – the company did not officially announce the end of its production, but orders have not been accepted since spring.
smart #3
At least one new product will appear in the new model range every year: the upcoming premieres, according to the German magazine auto motor und sport, are the junior model smart #2 and the largest in the range smart #4 or smart #5. The “Four” is most likely a compact hatchback, and the “Five” is a roomy family crossover. In technical terms, smart #4 and smart #5 will be unified with models #1 and #3, that is, they will receive the SEA platform.
For smart #2, which will replace the fortwo model, the platform SEA is too large, the “two” will have its own platform designed for short two-seater models. Geely, like other large Chinese companies, already has small city electric cars – for example, the recently introduced Geely Panda Mini, but its platform is too primitive and does not fit in with the premium status of smart. The “two” platform should provide a high level of safety and the ability to integrate the latest electronic driver assistants – read the high Euro NCAP rating.
Smart #2 is expected to enter the market in 2025, but the premiere may take place earlier. “Four” or “five” will join the smart range next year.
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