The Smart brand from Daimler Group is set to rebuild its product portfolio, starting with a fully-electric compact SUV. The brand that focuses on ultra-compact cars for use in narrow European streets currently offers the smart EQ fortwo (hardtop and cabrio) as well as a smart EQ forfour, all in fully-electric flavour.
On its Instagram page, the Smart company said, “The shape of things to come – here’s a never-before-seen glimpse of the next chapter of the Smart brand.”
In our earlier article, Smart’s vice president of global sales Daniel Lescow, has not been shy to talk about the latest developments within his company. He said “It may come as a surprise to some: Smart will enter the market with a fully electric SUV – spacious yet compact. This will be the first vehicle of the joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely, due out in 2022, built in China.”
Lescow also says in his LinkedIn post that the upcoming Smart vehicle will be built on Geely’s new SEA electric car architecture.
Mercedes-Benz will be responsible for the design of the new Smart electric SUV model, while Geely will be the main contributor in terms of development and production of the vehicle.
Reports from China suggest that the still-unnamed Smart SUV model will be equipped with a rear-mounted electric motor, generating peak power of 272 hp, alongside a lithium-ion battery pack with a capacity of less than 70 kWh and a range of more than 500 km, based on the Chinese NEDC test cycle.
Mercedes-Benz’ latest EQA 350 AWD compact meanwhile has an output of 292 hp, a battery pack with 66.5 kWh usable energy content and a range of 432 km under WLTP test cycle.
These examples are much larger scale than the current Smart forfour (image above), with the vehicle measuring just 3.5 metres in length and fitted with a 82 hp/160 Nm electric motor, a 17.2 kWh battery pack and a range of 126 km.
Smart is intending to unveil the new electric SUV in September at the IAA Mobility in Munich.
