Electric car brand Smart yesterday revealed aims to ramp up car sales once deliveries begin of 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 and 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 has ever been able to.
The first new model since Mercedes sold a 50% stake in Smart to Chinese automaker Geely in 2019, the Smart #1 is built using Geely's SEA architecture and has a range of up to 270 miles on a full charge.
Alone, Mercedes had struggled to make Smart a financial success since its launch.
David Browne, UK chief executive of Smart, told AM he hopes the brand's UK sales will climb by 2025 to the level of 8,000 to 12,000 units, which smart last achieved in 2016 before it became an EV only brand in 2019.
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As editor, Tim is responsible for the media content, planning and production of AM's multiple channels (AM print and digital magazines, website, social media and contributing to our events planning). He interviews and writes about as many franchised dealer groups and UK divisions of motor manufacturers as possible, to explore the issues facing UK motor retail and understand what solutions dealers and suppliers are using to overcome these.
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