Smart returning to Australia this year with Chinese-made electric cars
Mercedes-Benz's Smart brand – now part-owned by Volvo's parent company – is returning to Australia with a range of SUV electric vehicles.
City-car specialist Smart is due to return to Australia by the end of this year after an absence of more than a decade.
However, the new electric SUVs it is expected to introduce are a far cry from the tiny two-seaters it previously sold – and Smart is now part-owned by Chinese car giant Geely, after Mercedes-Benz sold half its stake in the brand.
Smart withdrew from Australia in 2015 after chalking up less than 4500 sales in 13 years, including 3571 of its signature 'ForTwo' – which was a metre shorter nose-to-tail than a Toyota Yaris, but no cheaper.
It is expected to return with a pair of Hyundai Kona-sized electric SUVs – badged #1 and #3 – designed by Mercedes-Benz, but engineered and built by Geely in China.
Production of the recognisable two-seat Smart ForTwo has ended, and the French factory that built it is now used for the Ineos Grenadier 4WD, a Land Rover Defender look-alike.
New Smart vehicles are expected to be sold in Australia by an independent distributor, rather than by Mercedes-Benz Australia as previously.
It is understood the Melbourne-based division of a top international Mercedes-Benz dealer group – LSH Auto – will lead the sale of Smart cars locally.
A spokesperson for Smart told Drive "we are going back to [the] Australian market, and very soon," and when asked for release timing, said "within 2024."
Smart will be one of a slew of new Chinese-owned electric-car brands to announce plans to enter Australia, alongside Zeekr – another Geely subsidiary – plus Xpeng, GAC, Aion and Leapmotor.
The namesake brand of the Geely car-making group – which also owns Volvo, Polestar and Lotus – is taking steps towards an Australian launch.
The Smart #1 and #3 – pronounced 'hashtag one' and 'hashtag three' – are both small electric SUVs, with the 4270mm-long #1 close to a Mazda CX-3 in size, while the 4440mm-long #3 is closer to a BYD Atto 3 or Volvo XC40.
Both are underpinned by a Geely electric-car platform, which will debut in Australia under the Volvo EX30 city electric SUV, and set to feature under new Zeekr electric vehicles bound for local showrooms.
The top-of-the-range versions use dual electric motors with 315kW – more than the final V8 Holden Commodores – and can do 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.9 seconds, as quick as a base Porsche 911.
In the UK, the Smart #1 is about 25 per cent cheaper than a well-equipped, single-motor Volvo EX30, which is priced from about $70,000 drive-away in Australia.
It could suggest a starting price of $55,000 drive-away for the Smart #1 in Australia, though flagship Brabus versions are estimated to exceed $70,000 – with the #3 attracting a premium of about $5000 to $6000.
It is understood Smart vehicles in Australia will be sold at fixed prices through a network of showrooms in capital cities around the country.