Smart, the car brand best known for its pocket sized Fortwo two-seater micro car more than two decades ago, has formally launched its first two electric car offerings in Australia, the Smart #1 and Smart #3 – ahead of the global unveiling in Byron Bay later on Wednesday of another electric offering, the Smart #5.
Smart is now a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and China’s Geely Holdings, and the two EV offerings are designed in Germany and made in China, and offer pricing from $54,900 for the base variants and up to $70,900 for the the top performance “Brabus” variant, before on road costs.
They will both be powered by 66 kWh battery packs, which will deliver ranges of between 400kms and 440kms, and the “Brabus” will offer an electrifying acceleration from 0-100kmh in just 3.7 seconds, which suggests the target market is as much to customers in their 30s as the retired couples imagined in the Fortwo.
The high-topped #1 and the bigger #3 – Smart likes to describe them as “hashtag 1 and hashtag 3” – will begin deliveries in September and are being distributed in Australia exclusively by LHS Auto.
Smart unveiled the #1 in international markets in 2022, and the #3 in 2023. The #5, a mid-sized SUV will be released later this year and will be followed by a new model each year. All will be coming to Australia – the #5 in the second half of 2025 – unlike the electric version of the Fortwo micro car which never made it to these shores.
Smart is pitching the two cars for the electric premium market, and its pricing is at the lower end of the premium price range, with the #1 focused on family driving in the city, and the #3 as a bigger, sportier option. Both have Brabus performance options.
“It’s a big new chapter,” says chief designer Kai Sieber. “It has been a real reset. I can’t stop touching these cars.”
One of the major selling points from Smart the interior quality, and the good use of space. It features a 13.2″ inch centre display, strong safety features and a sun roof. It has a five year, 150,000 kms warranty period for the car, and an eight-year, 150,000 kms warranty for the battery.
LHS Auto CEO John Good says early indications are that the two models will be well received, but wouldn’t reveal any initial numbers. “We do expect a lot of interest after the launch today,” he said. “Interest has been across the board. certainly in Brabus, and in both the #1 and #3 so far.”
The smart#1 will be available in three variants:
- Pro+ – starts at $54,900 before on-roads
- Premium – starts at $58,900 before on-roads
- Brabus – starts at $67,900 before on-roads
The Pro+ is powered by a single motor which produces up to 200 kW of power as well as delivering a peak torque of 343 Nm. This helps this variant propel from 0-100 km/h in 6.7 seconds.
the smart#3 is powered by a 200 kW motor for the first Pro+ and Premium variants. This will help it sprint from 0-100 km/h in 5.8 seconds. The variants of the sportier smart#3 include:
- Pro+ – starts at $57,900 before on-roads
- Premium – starts at $61,900 before on-roads
- Brabus – starts at $70,900 before on-roads
The smart#3 Brabus adds 20-inch wheels and is powered by the same drivetrain as the smart#1 Brabus. This propels this car from 0-100 km/h at a blistering 3.7 seconds. This model is also expected to be powered by the same 66 kWh battery pack found in the smart#1.
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.
Here we go again – a supposed ‘technical’ article with no tech specs. FYI the Smart #1’s dimensions are 4,270-4,300 mm L x 1,822 mm W x 1,636 mm H – data I found in less than one minute. Readers can do a web search as I did for the other models’ data.
yes. The article cites ” good use of space ” which is quite lkely given the history, but gives no detail or comparison with say Model 3 or perhaps and equivalent ICE Toyota.
What do you expect from Giles.
He keeps telling people he charges at home from free solar
Good to see more small EVs entering the AU market, just a bit pricey.
I wouldn’t call the Smart #1 small with a width of more than 1.8 metres. Too fat to drive easily into our garage.
As I remember it, the original Smart microcars did not have a good reputation.
The first law of journalism is that bad news sells. The satisfied don’t bother.
We had a Smart 42 for 5 years, and it was terrific. Very reliable, nimble, compact, delightful. Only traded it when it got a little older, and as we live int he bush, concerned about service.
The original Smarts were a great size but somewhat ‘agricultural’ and quirky to drive. You either loved them or loathed them. It would be good to see more genuinely small EVs coming as so many of us live in Cities where they are ideal for commuting and regular shopping trips.
As the owner of a Zoe, you can’t beat a small car for ease of driving. They get into parking spaces others can’t, you can drive nose first into a typical parallel parking space when there’s a vehicle in front and behind, you can do U-turns instead of 3-pointers, you can squeeze past idiots who decide to turn right from the middle of the road, etc etc. And they are great fun to drive. Give me a small car over a behemoth every day.
The middle. I have had idiots turn right from the left side of the highway
I remeber turnig right fom left lane in Melbourne. Is that still a thing?
That’s a hook turn, only on certain intersections in the city centre. It’s done to prevent impeding trams, and is something entirely different.
The biggest question now on my mind is the customer support delivery promise – with so many unestablished brands appearing so suddenly……it might the only aspect holding the Chinese back from total dominance.
Spot on. Only about 2 -3 Chinese brands are making a profit in their home market, so they are dependent on exports for future profitability. On top of that are the costs of bring a new car to a new country. Now you see why these cars are significantly higher when launched here. Do you think they are going to do anything that cost them money, like honouring warranty items.
Somehow, according to the article, despite sharing the same 200kw output as the Smart #1, the bigger #3 is more than a second quicker to 100kph.
Also, “The smart#3 Brabus…. 0-100 km/h at a blistering 3.7 seconds.” which must be the 2 motor version. Again the Volvo EX30 is 3.6sec.
Seems like Smart/Geely is using the same motor and platform as the Volvo EX30
it is the EX30 under the skin
Incorrect reporting again.
Range is not that unless you go from 100% to 0%.
Time for honesty in reporting giles
That is how range is always reported.
These expensive, trendy toys look like pricey niche products to me.