Smart adds to its range a 4.70 m long SUV
- The Smart brand (a Mercedes subsidiary) is rebuilding its battery electric range with the help of China's Geely. Since 2023, we've seen the launch of the 4.27 m-long #1 (B-segment SUV) and the 4.40 m-long #3 (C-segment SUV), followed by the discontinuation of the Fortwo (A-segment sedan) in April 2024, which put an end to the 2.50 m to 2.70 m-long A-segment minicars in Europe. The Smart brand therefore chose to abandon the A segment (given the numbering of its models) and concentrate on the B and C segments.
- Today, the Smart brand wants to go further upmarket, unveiling a 4.70 m long D-segment SUV named the #5, again with an electric engine. Like the #1 and #3, this large SUV is produced in China, using the same SEA platform. The Smart #5 is available in four versions, two with 340 hp / 363 hp rear-wheel drive (RWD) and two with 587 hp / 646 hp all-wheel drive (AWD). The unladen weight of all versions will exceed 2 tones.
- The carmaker claims a range of 700 km in the Chinese CLTC cycle, equivalent to just over 600 km in the European WLTP cycle. Rear-wheel-drive versions are equipped with lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, while all-wheel-drive versions feature nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) technology. Although their capacity is not yet official, the biggest is expected to be equipped with 100 kWh battery pack.
- The Smart #5 will be available on the European market in 2025, even with the handicap of the additional taxes announced by the European Commission. Sales figures for the new Smart "made in China" remain mixed, with 8,000 sales in Europe in the first five months of 2024 (including 6,000 #1 and 2,000 #3), compared with 8,600 Fortwo sales in the first five months of 2023. In China, the start of the Smart's career seems equally timid, with sales not exceeding 15,300 units in the first five months of 2024, representing 0.7% of the BEV market in China over the period.