A camouflaged Smart #2 was spotted in China: the two-seater EV will be shown as early as October at the Paris auto show

For years, the small two-seater Smart was an icon of urban transport—then it quietly disappeared from the lineup as the brand shifted to crossovers. Now it’s coming back. Camouflaged prototypes have appeared in the streets of Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen camouflaged Smart #2 model prototypes and the global premiere is scheduled for the October auto show in Paris.

A two-seater car that nobody else is making today

Smart #2 returns to what the brand started with: a two-door two-seater silhouette, no rear seats, no compromises toward becoming a family car. The design was drawn by the Mercedes-Benz team, and the photos show distinctive headlights, a blanked-off grille, round rear lights, and a two-tone roof.

The car is built on ECA architecture, which Smart developed exclusively for small electric cars. The most noticeable advantage is the 6.95-meter turning radius—whether you’re in a parking garage or on a narrow street in the old town, it’s exactly the difference that makes people buy small cars.

The dimensions and the tech are already known

The documents Smart submitted to China’s Ministry of Industry revealed almost everything. The car is supposed to be sold in two body lengths—2,751 and 2,764 millimeters, with both versions featuring a width of 1,669 mm, a height of 1,555 mm, and a wheelbase of 1,875 mm. Curb weight is 1,130 kilograms, and the top speed is 140 km/h.

Power comes from a single electric motor with output of 60 kW, i.e., 80 hp. It sounds low, but with a weight under 1,200 kilograms and for city use, it’s more than enough. Energy is provided by a 35.7 kWh LFP battery from CATL, which—according to the source—should handle around 300 kilometers. On a fast charger, it goes from 10 to 80 percent in 20 minutes.

Why this premiere matters for Smart

Smart is currently not doing well in China. According to data cited by CarNewsChina, Smart added 1,841 cars to the Chinese market in July 2026, which is 32.2% less than the year before. That makes the #2 model an attempt to return to what once made the brand famous.

Standard equipment includes an Event Data Recorder (EDR) and, optionally, an ETC toll unit—but those are features tailored to the Chinese market. For us, the Paris premiere is what matters: Smart sells the brand in Europe, and the #1 and #3 models are available here through the Mercedes network, so this two-seater city EV with a range of around 300 kilometers has a real chance of making it into Slovak price lists as well. The brand hasn’t announced pricing yet.

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