For Volkswagen, Renault and Smart, affordable small electric cars could soon arrive in Europe

Although Smart has ended production of its ForTwo electric car, the manufacturer is now looking at the next generation. It is currently looking for a partner to collaborate with, like Volkswagen can do with Renault for the ID.1 and Twingo. The good news is that cheap electric cars are expected to arrive in Europe soon.

It has been a while since Smart became a 100% electric brand, since the switch was made in 2020 and the discontinuation of its ForTwo and ForFour heating system. But the company continues its transformation more than ever.

New collaborations to come

This is how it recently officially ended the production of its city cars with two and four seats. These were collected in France, and more accurately in Hambach, Lorraine. The page opens with the company, which now only sells its Smart #1 and #3, which we tested recently. But the company does not want to stop there and plans to further expand its range.

He really wants to revive the little ForTwo, with a completely new generation and in the form of a cheap car. Which would allow it to compete with the future Renault Twingo Legend and the Volkswagen ID.1, which recently made headlines. But things are not so obvious. Because designing a small electric car is expensive. And so making it profitable is difficultespecially if you want it to show a lower price.

This is why Smart, which is owned by the Chinese group Geely together with the German company Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes, is looking for a partner. This is what the American website explains Carscoops, which refers to the words of Dirk Adelmann, CEO of Smart in Europe. The latter indicates that the brand has already started working two months ago platform set for this electric city car of the future. But now he needs a partner.

The goal? Reduce research and development costs and share knowledge to increase margins. Especially since Smart doesn’t want to compromise quality or safety in any way. The head of the European division says he wants to make it happen five stars in the EuroNCAP crash test and provide the same driving support as in #1 and #3. And this in a reduced size and at a lower price.

There is no immediate launch

At the moment, no manufacturer seems to be coming forward to work hand in hand with Smart for its new generation ForTwo project. However, cooperation would definitely be the only solution to allow the city car to see the light of day, as it could. do that Renault and Volkswagen. The boss of the diamond brand confirmed that the future ID.1 could be similar to the Twingo.

For its part, Smart has already been able to negotiate with several manufacturers, but finally decided to work alone sa plateforme ECA (Compact Electrical Architecture). From now on, the manufacturer would like to share with the partner, and without this, no launch date can be announced for the city car. Can the company look at Geely’s brand portfolio? Of course, since we know that the market for small electric cars already very developed in China.

In any case, Smart does not want to give up, as the company seems to believe completely in this silhouette. And this like many other products, such as Citroën and its ë-C3 that we were recently able to discover in real life and whose price is less than 25,000 euros. Opel will also be working on the production of its own affordable small car, as will Fiat.

It’s enough to help drivers take the plunge, when they think electric cars are still too expensive. And what does it matter if they carry a small battery, because the charging stations are more and more, time fast payments are increasing significantly.