smart is growing up

smart is growing up

smart advertises its new compact SUV, which has the hashtag #1 in its name, as a “vehicle for all situations”. In contrast to the previous smart models, which successfully occupied the niche of small city cars, the new model has an adult length of 4,270 mm, a wheelbase of 2,750 mm and rims with a diameter of up to 19 inches. The motor of the smart #1 has a peak output of 200 kW, and the battery can be charged from 10 to 80% in three hours using alternating current. With DC super fast charging, this takes less than 30 minutes. The market launch in Austria is planned for May 2023, pre-orders are possible as early as December 2022. From then on, the first prices will also be available. Until then, the Austria team is working on building up the dealer network, which uses synergies and draws on the extensive Mercedes-Benz network. Nine locations – one per federal state – are currently being planned.

“We are convinced that the smart #1 has great market potential in Austria because it is the optimal combination of high-quality technology and premium design,” says Sarah Lamboj, CEO of smart Austria. The smart #1 is the first of a new generation of fully electric SUVs that smart will launch. Compact on the outside but spacious on the inside, the 5-seater aims to stand out from the competition with progressive design elements such as concealed electric door handles, frameless doors and a floating halo roof. Inside, the new smart has an avatar as an intelligent companion that can be controlled using AI-based voice control. The networked ecosystem of car, smart app and cloud data is linked to the personal smart ID and protected by the highest encryption standards. A centralized IT architecture ensures dynamic over-the-air updates so that more than 75% of all control devices in the vehicle can be continuously checked and updated remotely.