In the era of electric vehicle sales, the two-door mini car has become a real blockbuster product. The micro-electric vehicles represented by the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV occupy a large number of markets in the new energy vehicle market. The best-selling of these micro-electric vehicles reminds everyone of the smart that was known for its "personality".
Today, smart is back in the form of an electric car. However, the Smart that came back again became the least smart car in the market.
Smart is no longer smart
On April 25, Smart Auto's first new energy pure electric SUV model Smart Genie #1 officially opened pre-sale, and a total of 2 models were launched, namely Smart Genie #1 Pro+ and Smart Genie #1 Premiun.
It is worth noting that smart genie #1 is designed by Mercedes-Benz, and the vehicle development project is completed by Geely, which is also based on the Geely Vast SEA architecture.
As early as March 2019, Daimler signed an agreement with Geely Holdings to announce the establishment of a joint venture to operate and promote smart brand transformation on a global scale. Under the agreement, the new company is headquartered in China, with each party holding 50% of the shares. One year after the signing of the agreement, the joint venture was officially incorporated under the name of "Smart Motor Automobile Co., Ltd." The registered capital of the joint venture company is 5.4 billion yuan, and each party will contribute 50%. The new cars on the market today are from the hands of this joint venture company.
The biggest difference in the new car should be that the size is no longer so smart, the new smart genie #1 body size: length 4270mm× width 1822mm× height 1636mm, wheelbase of 2750mm. At the same time, the price is no longer so "close to the people", and the pre-sale price range after subsidies is 19.00-23.00 million yuan.
Of course, the price increase is not only the size of the increase. As the first mass production model launched after the electrification transformation of the Smart brand, smart genie #1 is designed by Mercedes-Benz, and the smart R&D team leads the engineering research and development, based on the Geely SEA Haohan architecture, which also brews the popular model of Extreme Kr 001.
In terms of performance, the new smart has also become more competitive. The power system of this new car is an electric motor with a maximum power of 200 kW and a maximum torque of 343 N·m, which takes 6.7 seconds to accelerate 100 km/h, the vehicle uses a 66 kW/h ternary lithium battery, and the CLTC has a maximum pure electric range of 560 km (535 km for the Pro+ version and 560 km for the Premium version), and it takes only 30 minutes to charge to 80% in only 30 minutes under the DC ultra-fast charging system.
Is it still fragrant when the feelings return?
However, can smart, which returns with affection, once again attract the love of young consumers? Maybe smart will have more difficulties to overcome.
First of all, smart is no longer like the previous Brand Image and Sales Channels that can be used by Mercedes-Benz, and the exquisite car tonality given by the brand is not reflected in the new Smart.
More importantly, perfect sales channels are an important condition for the sales support of a new car brand. The smart brand has not enjoyed the channels of Mercedes-Benz, nor has it enjoyed the channels of Geely, and may face sales pressure in the early stage of promotion.
At the same time, the price of around 200,000 yuan makes the new smart look like it has no advantage. Although compared to models such as the Model 3 and BYD Han that are slightly higher than this price range, the smart genie #1 is not too convincing in terms of body size.
Of course, there are also consumers who pay attention to boutique cars, and will be more interested in Smart Genie #1. Ms. Tan, owner of the Euler good cat GT, told reporters, "If the smart car comes out earlier, I may consider it." She said bluntly, "I prefer the smart brand."
Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Hu Xiong