
Key Points
Keeping Up With The Times
The Smart (or smart) car brand, throughout its relatively long history, has been able to capture part of the automotive culture by offering iconic small vehicles, from the Smart Fortwo to the Smart Forfour, and many others.
However, the marque, now under the stewardship of China’s Geely Group, has already reinvented itself in the electric era, with a current lineup that’s in tune with the times. An expansion of that lineup is underway, diversifying the lineup into other size segments, such as crossovers and SUVs. Smart currently offers the crossover Smart #1, a mid-size SUV Smart #3, and the flagship SUV Smart #5.
And now, a sedan has joined the Smart lineup – though it looks eerily similar to another Chinese vehicle that’s been populating headlines this year.
Smart Sedan
As reported by Autohome, a new Smart car has been cataloged by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The model in question is the Smart #6 – the automaker’s first true sedan.
According to reports, the Smart #6 is based on the Zeekr 007 – a luxury sedan from the brand that’s also part of the Geely Group. However, the design language screams Xiaomi SU7 without the McLaren-style front fascia that the SU7 is known for. Of note, the SU7 is quite popular, garnering 50,000 orders in less than half an hour in 2023. It’s currently Xiaomi’s best-selling model.
In the #6, the front and rear feature a continuous light bar, decorated by Smart’s emblem. The filing stated that it will come with a choice of 19- or 20-inch rims, most likely depending on the trim level.
The #6 will be positioned as a midsize sedan, featuring a 1.5-liter plug-in hybrid powertrain that produces 160 horsepower. Other notable features include a LiDAR sensor mounted on the roofline (typical among Chinese-market vehicles) and an automatic rear spoiler that only shows up at higher speeds, tucking away to keep the #6 sleek-looking at lower speeds.
Back to Basics
With a lineup becoming more robust and going into the important segments of the automotive market, Smart is also going back to basics and playing to its strengths. A couple of months ago, we reported that the automaker is set to debut an all-electric #2 model sometime in 2026, which harkens back to the iconic Fortwo layout.
If done right, the new #2 could do very well for the automaker, as demand for small city EVs rises. The #6 will cater to a newer set of buyers who are enamored with sedans, as evidenced by the rising popularity of the body type in China.