Smart is bringing back the Fortwo

Smart has teased the return of its most iconic car. Based on the original Smart Fortwo, the Smart #2 is an all-electric, two-seater city car set to debut in late 2026.

The move marks a return to the A-segment for the revived brand, which lately has focused less on making dinky runarounds and more on lane-straddling electric SUVs big enough to swallow the old Fortwo whole.

First mentioned last year, the spiritual successor to the quirky Smart Fortwo is now confirmed to be in its final design and development phase. Styled by the Mercedes-Benz design team and produced by Geely in China, the Smart #2 aims to blend the spirit of the original city car with modern EV technology. While official images are yet to be released, a teaser silhouette suggests a compact but modern shape in keeping with the all-electric Fortwo from 2011.

open image in gallery

Dirk Adelmann, CEO of Smart Europe, described the confirmation as a “milestone moment,” saying, “the Smart #2 will shape a new era of individual urban automobility, especially in classic Smart cities like Rome, London or Paris.”

Smart isn’t the only car maker with eyes on the smaller end of the market. Volkswagen has previewed its own mini-EV in the form of the IDEvery1 concept, which is set to cost less than £20,000, offer a range of at least 155 miles and arrive in 2027.

The Smart #2 sidles into the brand’s numbered hashtag line-up of EVs, which now includes the Smart #1 and #3 crossovers and the soon-to-be-launched Smart #5 large SUV. Technical specifications are still under wraps, but it’s safe to assume that advances in battery tech mean the Smart #2 will trump the 90-mile range of the Fortwo.

Now owned by Mercedes-Benz and Chinese automotive giant Geely, the reanimated Smart brand has transitioned from cutesy matchbox cars into more sensible EVs for the modern market. We’ve been impressed by the line-up so far.

Our review of the upcoming Smart #5 called it an “enormous, boisterous, fast-charging family SUV”. At the other end of the range, we found the smaller Smart #1 to be “a high-quality EV with decent range, quick charging and a smart interior”. Here’s hoping the Smart #2 can recapture some of microcar magic missing in the brand’s embiggened EV range.