Smart SUV previews bigger, bolder Mini rival

Micro-car maker Smart is growing up. It has revealed teaser images of the electric SUV concept it will debut at the Munich motor show in September.

Owned 50-50 by Mercedes-Benz and Geely – one of many Geely ventures – Smart is preparing to launch the five-door SUV in 2022 in Europe and China, the latter where it will also be built.

The SUV is shaping to be a feisty thing. If reports are accurate it will be powered by a single rear-mounted 200kW e-motor that will be fed by a 70kWh battery pack. The forecast range is about 500km. It will also get over the air updates.

Underpinning the new Smart SUV will be Geely’s SEA platform, as will a bunch of other future models from the brand which is going all-electric and will also be exclusively built in China.

The SUV, reported to be coded HX11 internally, also signals an upscaling of vehicle size from Smart, which in recent times has focussed on tiny city cars such as the ForTwo and ForFour.

The SUV is expected to be as big as the Mini Countryman and should seat five people.

Smart boss Daniel Lescow let some details out about this vehicle earlier this year.

“It will be a pure electric, premium, very high-tech, compact SUV,” he said. “And while saying SUV, it will embody all characteristics that the smart brand stands for.

“It will feature very, very short overhangs, it will feature premium and sophisticated design, it will be very, very compact on the outside, while extremely spacious and big on the inside.”

Originally a joint-venture between watch maker Swatch and Mercedes-Benz, Smart cars were sold in Australia between 2003 and 2015, until lack of interest killed the brand here. It’s unlikely to come back any time soon.

Geely bought into Smart in 2020. Benz is responsible for the brand’s design, while the Chinese auto giant looks after development and manufacturing.