Smart’s New City EV Is Already Off To A Great Start

The Smart #2’s initial Couture Edition is already sold out in all of the countries where it’s available.

Photo by: smart

By: Iulian Dnistran

Nov 2, at 8:40am ET

Comment

Smart’s new #2 urban EV is proving quite successful for a pint-sized city car.
The limited-run Couture Edition that kicked off sales of the new model is already sold out.
European customers can still order the regular trims, but the order books for the launch model are full.

The Smart car had a pretty short life in the United States, especially when it comes to the two-door electric model. However, over in Europe, the two-door urban runabout has become something of an icon, and can often be seen in the busy streets of major cities.

Now, though, there’s a new two-door Smart EV, which harks back to the original ForTwo EQ, but significantly improves on its predecessor’s spec sheet. And to the company’s surprise, the first batch of the new Smart #2 is also proving quite successful, with order books already full.

Smart #2 Couture Edition

Photo by: smart

I’m talking about the limited-run Smart #2 Couture Edition, which kicked off sales of the diminutive EV in Europe. Limited to just 999 units, the two-tone version of the bug-eyed city car is already sold out in all of the countries where it was available, signaling that Europeans are interested in Smart’s modern reinterpretation of the car that started it all.

To be clear, the Smart #2 in its regular trims can still be ordered and probably won’t be sold out anytime soon. But for a car that can only seat two and has a WLTP-rated range of just 180 miles (290 kilometers), it’s a pretty solid start.

The #2 Couture Edition is based on the top Premium trim and comes standard with a glass roof, ambient lighting, heated seats, a heated steering wheel, a Sennheiser audio system, and a wireless charging pad for smartphones. On top of that, the exterior is painted in an exclusive Atelier White Matt color with a Platinum Gold roof. Together with the 16-inch Lyra rims with gold details and suitcase-like straps in the front bumper, the limited edition model is meant to look like the Smart Concept #2 that prefaced the model’s introduction half a year ago.

“Selling out all currently available units of the Smart #2 Couture Edition in just two weeks is an extraordinary achievement,” said Wolfgang Ufer, CEO of Smart Europe GmbH. “And what makes this success even more remarkable is that most of our customers haven't even had the chance to see the car in person yet. For me, this is much more than a sales success. It's a powerful sign of how much people have been waiting for the return of our iconic two-seater.”

What do you think?

View

Comments

The successor to the Smart ForTwo EQ is powered by a 35.8-kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, which is almost double the original model’s 17.6-kWh capacity. As a result, the range has also doubled. The charging performance has also been improved dramatically, with the new Smart #2 needing roughly 20 minutes to go from 10% to 80% state of charge.

In several European countries, including Germany, France, and Italy, the new EV starts at €19,990 ($22,500). The first customer deliveries in left-hand drive markets are scheduled for the middle of the second quarter, with right-hand drive markets following in 2027.