Smart Kills Another Car To Make Way For First SUV

Daimler's Smart brand has been absent from the American marketsince the end of 2019. After dropping the combustion-powered Smart ForTwo and subsequently only offering tiny city-focused EVs, the brand simply didn't fit in with what Americans wanted. But it seems it's not just America, but the world, that isn't entirely happy with what Smart has been producing, as the automaker has now dropped its biggest model from its global lineup.

The Smart ForFour is, as the name suggests, a four-seater hatchback that wasn't sold in the USA in its current form. The model has now been discontinued to make way for the brand's first-ever crossover.

The news comes courtesy ofAutocar, which reveals that production at Renault's Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia ended in December 2021. If you're wondering why Renault was building a Daimler product, it's because the Smart was co-developed with Renault and shares a platform with the European Renault Twingo. In its place, Smart is preparing to launch a production version of theConcept #1 SUV, which will appeal to a crossover-crazed market and fit in more with the new Mercedes-Benz design language we have seen on recent EQ models.

That's of particular note as the Smart SUV is an electric car, with no ICE-powered derivatives available. This should free up space inside the car, which is about the size of theMini Countryman. Patent filings recently uncovered show that the production model, which does not have a confirmed name as of yet, willdiffer little in its designcompared to the concept, except for the addition of a traditional B-pillar to support the roof structure.

The Smart SUV will be built in China, where it will share Geely's Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), a scalable platform that we've already seen in use in theZeekr 001. Despite its Chinese production, the Smart SUV will likely become a global model, although whether the brand re-enters the USA still remains to be seen.