Smart’s Growing Up, Teases Electric SUV Concept With “Cool” And “Sexy” Design

Smart is reinventing itself and to do that it will start something about as far from its current lineup as possible: an SUV.

The company today revealed the first teaser of the electric crossover. The new pictures reveal a more serious demeanor with flowing lines, soft curves, and a floating roof. Speaking to AutoExpress, Gorden Wagener, the man leading the new design, said this model will have little in common with the ForTwo.

“We have taken the opportunity to reinvent the brand,” Wagener said. He added that the new design is intended to be “cool, sexy and grown-up instead of cute and playful.”

Although it will be considerably larger than the minuscule city cars that have defined the brand until now, the Smart SUV is still expected to be on the small side. Tipped to compete against the likes of the MINI Countryman, it will be big enough for five, but by no means a Hummer competitor.

Like the upcoming Hummer, it will be electric, though. Daimler will reportedly look to its partner Geely for the crossover’s underpinnings. That will mean that the Smart will share its platform with Volvo’s upcoming tiny electric SUV, the XC20.

Like most electric platforms, SEA is flexible and can support one, two, or three electric motors. In its biggest configuration, the platform can return up to 430 miles of range per charge (on China’s NEDC test cycle), though this upcoming crossover may have to be satisfied with less, given its size.

The platform does support 800 volts, though, which could mean that the Smart crossover supports fast charging. Regardless, Smart promises that the brand will remain “accessible.” That would suggest that prices won’t be quite as high as they are on something like the EQS.

A concept version of the SUV is expected to make its debut this fall. A production version is expected to go on sale in 2023.