The new generation of the Smart will start next year. But nothing stays as it was: the mini city runabout with two seats becomes a full-fledged SUV. This is shown by the first design sketches by Smart Automobile Co., Ltd., a joint venture founded in December 2019 by Mercedes and the Chinese car manufacturer Geely, parent company of London Taxi, Lotus, Lynk & Co., Polestar and Volvo, among others.
This seems to be the end of the original idea behind the Smart. From 1994 the watch patron and Swatch founder Nicolas Hayek (1928-2010) came up with the Swatch-Mobil: tiny, with two doors and two seats and an electric or hybrid drive. Volkswagen waved it off, but Mercedes got in – and from 1998 sold the new “Smart” speedster with only conventional combustion engines. Mercedes saw electric drives only in the distant future – Hayek therefore sold his shares in the joint company Smart, which at that time still resided in Biel BE.
Small car, big fan base
Nevertheless, the small car quickly found a sworn fan base who were completely convinced of the concept. The main problem with the Smart has always been cost pressure: Small cars must not be expensive, so they have to be developed and built cheaply. For the generation currently on offer, Mercedes therefore teamed up with Renault: Hüben stayed with the name Smart, over there it became the Twingo as a two- and four-door model. However, since 2020 Smart has only offered electric drives.
This also applies to the new Smart brand. With a 4-meter SUV with five seats as the first model, the small car will initially become a comparatively large car. But this also means there is more space for a battery with a modern range: the current electric smart only manages between 120 and 140 kilometers in everyday life. In the future, it should be up to 500 kilometers with around 250 hp. In addition, production is no longer in the Franco-German border area, but in China. The owner of FC-Lausanne-Sport, Jim Ratcliffe, takes over the old Smart factory to produce an off-roader à la Defender under the name Ineos.
Unveiling in September
The design of the new model should be based on previous Smarts. Retractable door handles, voice control, a digital key and a large panoramic roof are planned; also significantly more noble materials in the interior than before. The end is also for the typical dealerships with smart towers: In the future, the car will be sold directly.
With such a larger model, Smart also solves its price problem – a price can be justified better for more cars. How high it will be has not yet been determined. First of all, the new Smart has to be unveiled at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Munich in September. And: Smart is not ruling out a new microcar in the future.
Published: 06/05/2021, 2 minutes ago
Last updated: June 5, 2021, 2:55 pm