The new electric vehicle (EV) from Chinese-German automaker Smart was spotted on the road in China, covered in heavy camouflage. It has a vaguely visible Styled Mercedes-Benz badge on the B-pillar and, based on Smart’s product planning, will launch later in 2024.
Smart is a joint venture between Geely Group and Mercedes Benz, established in 2019. The venture is headquartered in Ningbo, a major Chinese port south of Shanghai. Geely manufactures Smart vehicles in their new Xi’an plant, which started operations in 2021. Mercedes takes care of the design.
Originally, Smart produced small ICE microcars, but the new owners transitioned it into an EV brand focusing on full-size vehicles.
The local media Zaker obtained the spy shots from their reader. The electric MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) has a boxy design, and the overall size is bigger than the Smart #3 coupe SUV. From the pictures, we can tell it won’t have sliding doors.
The new MPV will feature 800V charging and Smart’s latest version, ADAS, called Smart Pilot Assist 3.0.
Its latest model on the market, #3 (read “hashtag three”), costs 209,900 – 289,900 yuan (29,500 USD – 40,700 USD) in China. The entry-level Pro+ trim has a 555 km CLTC range with a 66 kW battery and a single 200 kW motor. The top trim Brabus version is AWD with dual motors and a total output of 315 kW (422 horsepower), 0-100km/h acceleration in 3.6 seconds.
Smart has two cars on the market in China: #1 and #3. In Europe, Smart #1 launched in September, and #3 will debut in early 2024. Smart is supposed to be a global brand, and its latest market is Malaysia, where Smart #1 launched in November.
Smart previously announced they want to launch at least one new model yearly and have 6-7 models on the road by 2027.
