City car specialist Smart is laying the foundations for higher new car sales volume and getting its franchisees geared up for the first of its new generation of cars, the Smart #1.

The electric-powered five-door crossover, whose #1 name is pronounced “hashtag one”, will reach the UK in 2023. It is hoped to put the Smart brand on the consideration lists of far more car buyers than its iconic, yet niche, two-seater Smart ForTwo micro car has ever been able to.

In preparation for what is, effectively, being positioned as a relaunch, Smart showrooms will receive a modest refurbishment and franchisees will be expected to increase their marketing activity.

Since its birth in 2001, with just a two-seater micro car, Smart has twice reached peaks of almost 12,000 new car sales in the UK.

In its first decade this was assisted by new models such as the Smart Roadster and the Smart ForFour – a four-seater supermini, based on the 2003 Mitsubishi Colt, that offered more practicality for motorists.