Smart #5 could also come as a plug-in hybrid
This was reported by the British portal Autocar, citing a spokesperson for the brand. The decision was confirmed by Smart representatives based in China after photos of test vehicles appeared on social media, according to the report. “We see individual mobility powered by combustion engines and, in particular, with hybrid drives as a transitional technology towards purely electric driving. It is important to respond to the increasingly diverse demands and desires of the customers. Smart cannot exclude any technological solution for the future at the current point of time,” a Smart Europe spokesperson stated.
However, following the publication of this article, Smart Europe also contacted electrive – with an important clarification, as the quote in the Autocar article had been misleadingly shortened. A crucial sentence was missing: “A model with other drive technology is not planned for Europe.” In other words: plug-in hybrids in Smart #5 are conceivable, but will not be offered in the European markets.
Since its relaunch as a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely, Smart has focussed on purely electric vehicles. The brand currently has two closely related electric cars in its range, the #1 and #3, with the larger #5 electric SUV set to follow this year. With the #5, Smart is making inroads into the mid-size class and is also offering 800-volt technology for the first time – you can read more about the electric version here.
Technical data on the PHEV version, which is currently being developed and tested, is not yet available – at least not confirmed by the company. Autocar speculates that it could be a variant of Geely’s so-called ‘Thor’ drive system. In the Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i, which has been on sale in China since December 2024, Geely combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine with 82 kW and a 160 kW electric motor. Customers also have the choice between two LFP batteries with 8.5 or 19.1 kWh energy content, which should be sufficient for 55 or 120 kilometres of electric range in the Chinese CLTC test procedure – WLTP values are usually significantly lower. Although the Galaxy Starship 7 is similar in length at 4.74 metres to the Smart #5 at 4.70 metres, the two cars are based on different platforms (the PMA2+ for the Smart and the GEA for the Galaxy). It is therefore not known whether the drive systems are compatible – as speculated by Autocar.
However, speculation about the background to Smart’s probable change in strategy is much more well-founded. With the statement that the company will “respond to the increasingly diverse requirements and wishes of customers,” the Smart spokesperson has provided an important explanation. In China, currently Smart’s most important market, electric car registrations have increased significantly, as reported, but plug-in hybrids have experienced a real boom in the past year. Electric cars with range extenders, which also count as PHEVs in the statistics, have also sold very well in China.
Smart Europe boss Dirk Adelmann also has high hopes for the electric version of the Smart #5: With the larger electric SUV, Smart hopes to nearly double sales from the current 65,000 to 120,000 units. However, Adelmann also stated in an interview that Smart had adapted its strategy in view of the market development in China and its second main market, Europe, and had accelerated its entry into other markets.
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