In September, smart revealed that it would be going back to its roots with a two-seater city car called the #2, the spiritual successor to its seminal fortwo. Now, the company has confirmed that the concept version will make its debut at Auto China in Beijing in April, ahead of the production model’s slated world premiere at the end of the year.
smart hasn’t made a city car – its raison d’être, let’s not forget – since 2024, once the new joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely got off the ground with the #1. The company has only built bigger and bigger SUVs since then, and it’s even on the verge of producing its first sedan with its #6 later this year. But a compact two-seat runabout is still at the heart of the company, and it made clear it wasn’t about to let such a car fall by the wayside even as it chased profits.
“We will do our best to ensure everyone can drive this long-awaited smart #2, also known as ‘fortwo,’ as soon as possible in this Year of the Horse, allowing this classic to gallop back into the smart family,” said CEO Tong Xiangbei at the smart times Inspiration Awards in Xiamen on Saturday.
The #2 will be built on a new Electric Compact Architecture (ECA), suggesting that there will be multiple variants to help amortise development costs. This could include a four-seater in the vein of the forfour (called the #4, perhaps?) to compete in China’s lucrative city EV sector, against the likes of the Wuling Bingo and BYD Seagull. The car will continue to be designed by Mercedes-Benz and use Geely technologies.
smart has already begun testing the all-new proprietary architecture and technological platform, using the body of the old fortwo. The production #2 will continue to be rear-wheel drive and retain its forebear’s signature four-square stance but feature a next-generation electric drivetrain and “advanced safety.”
Details have not been made known, but Autohome reports that the #2 will be offered in coupé form first, with a cabriolet version (previously more of a targa with a retractable fabric roof) expected to be offered later on. Its battery will also apparently have a capacity of around 30 kWh, which is similar to the Proton eMas 5 Prime‘s LFP pack that has a WLTP-rated range of 225 km.
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