The #1 SUV was introduced with Chinese technology but with German design.
The first new model, the No. 1, an evolution of Geely (the Chinese owner of Volvo has also owned 50 percent of the Smart since 2019), was unveiled in Berlin on Thursday night. Under the agreement Production and development were the responsibility of Geely, and Daimler was solely responsible for the design.
The debut of the No. 1 car in Smart’s life was such an important milestone, as the car manufacturer unveiled a new model in 2014. The car’s exterior looks hardly different from the study presented at last fall’s Munich Motor Show, but the interior – which Smart claims is as large as Mercedes E-class – We just got an accurate picture.
The on-board infotainment system is also a Geely development and has nothing to do with the MBUX system used in Mercedes. One The AI avatar of the onboard system appears on a 12.8-inch touch screen shaped like a fox, But later there will be other characters to choose from. Of course, Smart #1 is able to receive wireless software updates, and 75% of the software that controls the car can be updated remotely.
Like all Smarts for a while, the #1 is marketed exclusively as an electric motor. The nickel-cobalt-manganese battery has a capacity of 66 kWh and is of course in the floor. Thanks mainly to the fact that a leisure car the size of a Vitara has become so heavy, Its weight is 1820 kg.
The factory calculates up to 440 km on a single charge, thanks to the large battery and low air resistance: the round shape, hidden handles and lockable grille reduced the form factor to 0.29. The on-board 400-volt system allows for a 150-kilowatt fast charge, which takes 10 to 80 percent of a charge in less than half an hour.
The rear axle is powered by an electric motor of 272 hp and 343 Nm, But weaker, more powerful, two-motor, all-wheel drive versions are also possible in the future, as SEA’s flexible platform allows for versatility. It is also likely that more batteries of different capacities will be available in the future. The new Smart will be available from the end of 2022, with the first copies arriving in the first half of 2023.
