GEELY

Smart #3: coupe style, electrified and will be presented at the Shanghai Motor Show

Smart was one of the first brands to make the leap to electric technology, although that leap wasn't precisely the best option for the company. Things were not going well when they decided on this transformation and did not improve until recently, when everything changed with the entry of Geely in the company's shareholding.

The change was noted with the launch of the Smart #1, an electric and powerful SUV, which will be accompanied by a model above in terms of size, the Smart #3. We still don't know all its details, but we do know some things.

For example, the next Smart #3 will be a coupe-style, all-electric SUV, whose presentation is scheduled for April 17, during the celebration of the Shanghai Motor Show. Sales will start in China, arriving in Europe a few months later, already in 2024.

There is still very little data regarding this new model, although some reports point to two versions. One with 156 hp and the other with 271 hp, the latter, almost certainly, will use the same engine that equips the Smart #1. There is no information about the battery characteristics of both versions.

Some images have emerged of what, it seems, will be the production version. They are images of a prototype with a little camouflage, coming from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, and show a car very similar to the Smart #1. In fact, up to the C-pillar, both cars are almost identical, but from there the Smart #3 gets the typical traits of this type of car - a much more pronounced sag and smaller rear windows. It remains to know the official details, but for that we will have to wait a little longer.

Brand CEO Tong Xiangbei, speaking to the staff of Automotive News Europe, acknowledged that the Smart #3 will be bigger, more spacious and sportier. There are images of the model leaked from the Chinese homologation office, where the measurements of the model also appear. It will reach 4.4 meters in length, 1.8 meters in width and 1.6 meters in height. A 4.5 meter long version also appears, but it will not be a long chassis version for China, where these versions are very well accepted. It actually refers to a “special traction device”.

With regard to the name of the model, the brand acknowledged that they keep the name '#2' for a special model, which will replace the already mythical Smart Fortwo, which is still manufactured today and whose existence will be extended until the first half of 2024. Furthermore, the plant where it is manufactured was acquired by INEOS for the production of the Grenadier.

Autonews