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ANOTHER week, another new car brand – except we’ve seen this one before. Enter (or re-enter) Smart, back from the relative wilderness and now aiming for big things with an all-electric small crossover called the #1 (above), engineered and built in China. You can read our verdict on the car’s strengths – and, in our view, one notable weakness – in this week’s Top Story. But speaking with Smart’s UK MD David Browne, it seems clear that as more car companies switch to efficient but relatively generic and soulless electric powertrains, they’re going to have to work harder than ever to stand out from the crowd. Browne believes that the customer journey could play a big part in giving Smart a USP, and he might be on to something. Gone are the…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy • New all-electric crossover heralds start of a fresh era for Smart • Launch Edition on sale in January, ahead of the rest of the range IT’S time for change at Smart. Launched as an automotive manufacturer almost 25 years ago, the brand has traditionally been known for tiny city cars that sold in modest numbers and never really delivered a meaningful profit for owner Daimler. So now, Smart is a joint venture between the German group and Chinese firm Geely. And to get things rebooted, they’ve moved manufacturing and much of the engineering to China, and come up with Smart’s first SUV. It’s an all-electric model called the #1 – and yes, marketeers call it “Hashtag One” – just under 4.3 metres long and 1.6 metres tall. That’s between the Hyundai Kona and…

Q Who are you trying to appeal to with #1? Older Smart customers or new buyers? A “We want to remain true to the values of Smart – particularly being clever with space-efficiency. And, of course, the EQ ForTwo is well known for its approach to overall dimensions. With the #1, we’re broadening that appeal, so you have a larger car, but also one that offers incredible interior space. We think this will attract both old and new Smart customers, really.” Q What’s your UK sales approach going to be? Will you offer direct online sales? A “Yes, we will – with fixed, transparent pricing. But the key is that the back-end system in the dealerships is the same as the one powering the online interface you can use at home – so…

ANOTHER week, another new car brand – except we’ve seen this one before. Enter (or re-enter) Smart, back from the relative wilderness and now aiming for big things with an all-electric small crossover called the #1 (above), engineered and built in China. You can read our verdict on the car’s strengths – and, in our view, one notable weakness – in this week’s Top Story. But speaking with Smart’s UK MD David Browne, it seems clear that as more car companies switch to efficient but relatively generic and soulless electric powertrains, they’re going to have to work harder than ever to stand out from the crowd. Browne believes that the customer journey could play a big part in giving Smart a USP, and he might be on to something. Gone…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy • New all-electric crossover heralds start of a fresh era for Smart • Launch Edition on sale in January, ahead of the rest of the range IT’S time for change at Smart. Launched as an automotive manufacturer almost 25 years ago, the brand has traditionally been known for tiny city cars that sold in modest numbers and never really delivered a meaningful profit for owner Daimler. So now, Smart is a joint venture between the German group and Chinese firm Geely. And to get things rebooted, they’ve moved manufacturing and much of the engineering to China, and come up with Smart’s first SUV. It’s an all-electric model called the #1 – and yes, marketeers call it “Hashtag One” – just under 4.3 metres long and 1.6 metres tall.…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy SMART and Brabus have enjoyed a relationship for two decades now, on everything from the baby ForTwo to the Roadster. So it was inevitable that the German ‘luxury performance’ brand would breathe over the new #1 SUV. Sure enough, a #1 Brabus will be available at the same time as the rest of the main range – from early spring 2023, in the UK’s case. There are plenty of visual cues from the outside that this is a ‘special’ #1; there’s a different design of 19-inch alloy wheels, bespoke paint colour combinations, red highlights on the exterior trim and a longer spoiler that extends beyond the end of the roofline. Inside, you get posher grained plastics and materials, plus Brabus logos on the headrests and in the infotainment – although the…