Smart Automobile – a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and China’s Geely Holdings – has become the latest car brand to announce it is bringing electric vehicles to the Australian market in 2024.
Smart says it will bring two electric SUV models to the Australia market, the smart #1 and the smart #3, which will be distributed through LSH Auto, the Australian distribution group for Mercedes-Benz. Both vehicles are engineered in Germany and are expected to target the “premium” market, although not necessarily at premium prices.
The move follows recent announcements from Zeekr, Xpeng and Leepmotor which are also offering new EVs to the local market. Smart joint venture partner Geely already has major stakes in brands that are currently available in Australia including Volvo Cars, Polestar, Zeekr, Lotus and more.
Both the smart EV will be offered with a high-performance Brabus version and will include up to 440 km of range with the brand suggesting that the pricing of these premium vehicles will be highly competitive with non-premium EV offerings of a similar size.
In the UK, the smart #1 is priced from £35,950 which is similarly priced to the BYD Atto 3 which starts at £37,695. For comparison, both these cars are priced under the Tesla Model Y which starts at £44,990. Similarly, the smart #3 starts at £32,950.
In the UK, the smart #1 and smart #3 are powered by a 62 kWh battery pack and these are expected to be carried over to the Australian market.
smart Automobile Co’s global chief marketing officer, Mandy Zhang, shared the significance of this announcement for the brand: “It’s clear that increasing numbers of Australians are drawn to the advantages of EV mobility,” said smart Automobile Co’s global chief marketing officer, Mandy Zhang.
“Entering a growing market with a premium product, presented by a premium partner, is the best possible outcome. We are confident the new smart range will connect with Australian EV needs, and that LSH Auto Australia will add a customer experience that will make the overall proposition extremely attractive.”
LSH Auto Australia currently operates dealerships in many parts of Australia. “The addition of the smart EV range is a natural and exciting progression in offering customers the best premium motoring options across all available technologies,” said LSH Auto Australia’s managing director, John Good.
Orders of the new smart vehicles will open in July for customer deliveries as early as September this year. Local pricing and specifications of both smart models will be available closer to the launch in the coming months.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.