Geely And Mercedes To Bring Back Two-Seater Legacy With Smart #2 EV In 2026

Smart, the joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and China's Geely, will launch a new two-seat electric vehicle in late 2026 as the successor to its ForTwo city car.

The model, called the Smart #2, will be introduced in China, Europe and other overseas markets. It will be a two-door, two-seat vehicle positioned in the A-segment, the company said.

The car is being designed by Mercedes-Benz and engineered on a new architecture developed by Smart's R & D team for ultra-compact models. Production will take place in China.

The #2 will join the existing Smart #1, #3 and #5 in the brand's lineup. Current Smart models in mainland China are priced between 154,900 yuan ($21,700) and 368,000 yuan, CnEVPost reported.

Global CEO Tong Xiangbei said developing an ultra-compact EV on a new architecture was more complex than building larger cars, but added that the company was now ready after strengthening its production and development capabilities.

The first Smart ForTwo was launched in 1998 and has sold over 2 million cars globally. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz reached an agreement with Chinese automaker Geely to give Smart a fresh start, with the two companies establishing a joint venture in Ningbo, Zhejiang. 

Under the deal, Mercedes handles the design while Geely takes care of engineering and production.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Geely was 'bullish' amid 'low' message volume.

Geely's U.S.-listed stock has risen 37.3% so far in 2025.

($1=7.12 yuan)

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