smart - the brand once known for its impossibly small city cars – is about to be re-born as an all-electric brand. The first production model, badged #1, will officially break cover on 7 April and is expected to be based heavily on the Concept #1 first shown in 2021.

Although smart is still owned by parent company, the Mercedes-Benz Group, all new models will be designed and built as part of a joint-venture between the German giant and Chinese brand Geely. The Chinese firm already owns Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, and has a large production infrastructure in China where the new models will be made. 

The new range will launch with the #1, a mid-sized crossover that dwarfs all previous smart models, including the old ForFour. Although the brand made its name with the immaculately packaged CityCoupe and ForTwo models, the #1 will mark a stark departure from smart’s original design philosophy of ‘Reduce to the Max’. The new model is expected to be around 4.3 metres in length, which would make it only fractionally smaller than a Mercedes EQA and only 20cm shorter than a Volkswagen ID.4.  

The new model will be based on a set of underpinnings developed by Geely and known as the Sustainable Experience Architecture. This universal platform will be used by Geely on a number of new models across its portfolio of brands. There have been no official announcements regarding battery size, power and range, but the size of the car suggests that a battery size of 60-70kWh is most likely.

The smart #1 is most likely to be sold in the China initially, with a European launch to follow.   

New smart #1 will take the form of a mid-sized crossover