smart #2 Electric City Car Preview Confirms 35.8-kWh Battery and 300 Km Target
smart has previewed the engineering behind the upcoming #2 electric two-seater, including a 35.8-kWh CATL battery, 300 km WLTP target and 20-minute fast charging.
The original smart fortwo idea is getting a serious electric reboot. smart has previewed the engineering package behind the upcoming smart #2, a sub-3-metre electric two-seater that will use a dedicated Electric Compact Architecture, a 35.8-kWh battery with CATL cells and a targeted 300 km WLTP range.
That is a much more interesting brief than simply reviving an old city-car badge. The smart #2 is being pitched as a modern urban EV with meaningful safety structure, quick packaging, proper fast charging and the kind of tiny footprint that has almost vanished from North American showrooms.
The company showed the technical package at a Beijing workshop on September 28, ahead of the car’s world premiere at the Paris Motor Show on October 12. Final specifications are still subject to homologation, so the range and performance figures should be treated as smart’s targets rather than certified ratings.
What smart Has Confirmed
According to smart’s official announcement, the #2 is built on a purpose-made Electric Compact Architecture, or ECA, developed for an ultra-compact two-seat EV.
The headline numbers are useful because they show where smart is aiming. A 35.8-kWh pack is small by crossover standards, but in a vehicle under three metres long it could deliver enough daily range without dragging around unnecessary weight. smart says the #2 targets approximately 300 km of WLTP range and supports 10-to-80-percent DC fast charging in 20 minutes.
| Item | smart #2 preliminary detail |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Electric Compact Architecture developed for an ultra-compact two-seater |
| Battery | 35.8-kWh pack using CATL cells |
| Target range | Approximately 300 km WLTP, pending final certification |
| DC fast charging | 10-80 percent in 20 minutes, according to smart |
| Drive unit | Highly integrated 11-in-1 electric drive |
| Layout | Rear-wheel drive with 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution |
| Turning diameter | 6.95 metres curb-to-curb |
| World premiere | Paris Motor Show, October 12, 2026 |
The electric drive unit is described as an 11-in-1 assembly, meaning smart has packed several drive, power-electronics and control functions into one compact unit. That kind of integration matters in a city car because every centimetre has to fight for cabin space, crash structure, battery volume and suspension packaging.
Safety Is The Hard Part In A Tiny EV
The old smart was famous for its Tridion safety cell. The #2 brings that idea back as the Tridion Cell Evo, with smart claiming more than 78 percent of the body structure is made from high-strength steel. The company also cites materials with tensile strength up to 1,800 MPa, torsional stiffness of 39,000 Nm/deg and the ability to withstand a roof load of more than 4 tonnes.
Those are company figures, but they point to the right problem. Making a small EV quick and cute is not the hard part. Making one feel credible beside larger vehicles, while packaging a battery underneath it, is the challenge.
smart also says the #2 will have 7 airbags, a seatbelt system with Pyrotechnic Lap Pretension and Crash Locking Tongue technology, and a layered battery-protection design. In vehicle-dynamics validation, the company says the car achieved 78 km/h in the Moose Test and a static rollover angle of 45.9 degrees.
It Still Sounds Like A Real smart
The most encouraging detail may be the turning circle. smart says the #2 has a 6.95-metre curb-to-curb turning diameter, which is exactly the kind of number that makes a tiny city car more than a styling exercise. In dense streets, tight parking garages and short urban errands, that matters more than another oversized display.
The chassis spec is also more ambitious than expected. smart says the #2 is the only sub-3-metre vehicle with a rear five-link independent suspension, paired with rear-wheel drive and a 50:50 weight distribution. Across the lineup, it will use staggered-width tires, with narrower fronts and wider rears.
Mercedes-Benz’s Global Design Team handled the styling, and smart says the car keeps the wheels-at-the-corners stance that defined the brand’s original two-seater. The production reveal in Paris should tell us whether the finished car carries that idea cleanly or leans too hard into retro revival.
Why It Matters For Canada, Even If It Does Not Come Here
There is no Canadian or U.S. launch announcement attached to this preview. smart effectively disappeared from the North American new-car market years ago, and bringing a tiny two-seat EV here would require a tough business case, certification work, retail support and pricing that makes sense beside larger used and new EVs.
Still, the #2 is worth watching because it pushes against a bad habit in the EV market: solving every problem with a bigger battery and a taller crossover body. A 35.8-kWh pack, if paired with honest range expectations and fast enough charging, is a cleaner answer for urban use than stuffing 70 or 80 kWh into a vehicle that rarely leaves the city.
Canada still needs mainstream long-range EVs, especially for winter highway driving and one-car households. But it also needs smaller electric options for city commuters, second-car households, delivery-heavy urban users and buyers who simply do not need a family crossover for every trip.
The smart #2 may never be that car for Canadian dealers. It does show that the tiny EV is not dead. If anything, the engineering is getting more serious.