Smart ELECTRIC SUV teased as the first Mercedes / Geely model

The first new model from Smart since it became a Mercedes/Geely joint venture is teased as an electric Smart SUV.

Smart has had something of a chequered history, from starting out as a project of Swatch watches and teaming up with Mercedes – and apparently struggling to ever make a profit, despite ‘premium’ prices – to the sale of half of Smart to Geely in 2019.

That tie-up between Mercedes and Geely to move Smart forward means designs by Mercedes and the stuff under the skin by Geely, with a new range of cars to eventually replace the Smart For Two and ForFour to be built in China from 2022. 

Now we get the first hints of what the new Mercedes/Geely Smart is going to look like, with the first tease for a new Smart arriving and looking little like any Smart that’s gone before.

Instead of a small urban car – or a compact roadster – this new Smart is an electric SUV with seating for four and thought to be similar in size to the MINI Countryman, and based on Geely’s new Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) which is also expected to underpin the upcoming Volvo XC20.

It’s expected to come with an electric motor at the back good for up to 270bhp and battery packs of up to 70kWh – and range of up to 250 miles – and with lesser spec models sitting below too.

Expect another tease or three for the new Smart SUV ahead of its expected arrival in concept form at the Munich Motor Show (that’s the Frankfurt Motor Show relocated) in the autumn.