smart celebrates 25th anniversary with special edition of #3

Although smart has just begun selling its EVs in Malaysia (actually the second time as it was here in the mid-2000s), the brand has been around for 25 years already. Before it was taken over by Mercedes-Benz and before Geely partnered the German carmaker in the ‘reborn’ company (2019), smart was established by the person who created the Smart watches, Nicola Hayek.

Original concept like Smart watches
Hayek had this idea of making a small city car with the same sort of personalisation concept as his watches. He also planned to make it with new manufacturing methods and had a hybrid powerplant in mind as well.

However, he felt it was better to team up with a larger carmaker and although the company had initially been associated with Volkswagen, he later formed a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz which was keen on having a compact model.

Though they were popular in the early years, sales of smart cars declined in the second half of the 2000s. The losses were so great that Mercedes-Benz (DaimlerChrysler then) decided to end its operations.

A new smart – with Geely
With Geely as a new partner and with new funding, the new smart company was created in 2019 with the first product, the #1, being styled by Mercedes-Benz Design and the platform from Geely. A factory was also set up in China to produce the cars, which will all be EVs.

25th anniversary edition
Since the launch of the #1 (it is said as ‘hashtag 1’) in 2022, smart has added the bigger #3 (hashtag 3) model to the range. In September last year, smart displayed a special edition which would commemorate the 25th anniversary and this will go on sale from this Friday, January 19. It will also be available in Europe where it has a price of 46,990 euros (RM239,300).

Known as the ‘Starry Sky Commemorative Edition’ (in China), this limited edition has sportier looks with red highlights, black and white leather seats, panoramic galaxy roof and of course, a 25th anniversary badge.

Like other #3 models, it has rear-wheel drive and a 66 kWh lithium-nickel battery providing power to the 272 ps/343 Nm motor. The range is said to be up to 455 kms with a fully charged battery.

Malaysia was among the first countries to start marketing the #1 and its more powerful version, the #1 BRABUS. The model was launched in November 2023 with the first 100 units within the first month. According to smart Malaysia, the #1 BRABUS accounts for the larger proportion of sales.

smart #1 launched in Malaysia, priced from RM189,000 – RM249,000

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