Smart #2 Gets November 5 China Launch Date, Keeping the ForTwo's Two-Seat Spirit

Smart has locked in November 5 for the official launch of the #2 in China, lining up the next chapter for its all-electric two-seater city car after the Couture Edition broke cover first.

The launch date comes from Chinese auto outlet Yiche, which reported it citing official channels. Smart China had already said the Premium trim would arrive in early November — just not which day.

A ForTwo heir with modern numbers

The #2 picks up where the original ForTwo left off. The production car had its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show on October 12, and the first taste of it in China came through a limited-run Couture Edition that went on sale last week.

Key Specs: 35.8 kWh LFP battery from CATL · 410 km CLTC range · 60 kW (80 hp) motor · 10–80% charge in 20 minutes · Couture Edition at 112,999 yuan (~$16,820)

That Couture Edition is capped at 999 units for China. Smart opened early reservations on September 14, asking a refundable 298 yuan deposit to hold a place.

Underneath, the car rides on what Smart calls the Electric Compact Architecture, a platform built from the ground up for tiny EVs. Mercedes-Benz’s global design team handled the styling.

The proportions stay faithful to the ForTwo recipe: two seats, wheels pushed to the corners, and an overall length of either 2,751 mm or 2,764 mm depending on spec, with a 1,875 mm wheelbase.

Quirks that survived the EV conversion

Inside, there’s a bench seat and an S-Shape wraparound dash with wave-like contours. The split tailgate also carries over — its lower half folds down to work as a loading shelf or somewhere to sit when the car is parked.

• Battery: 35.8 kWh lithium iron phosphate, cells from CATL
• Range: 410 km on the CLTC cycle
• Output: 60 kW, or 80 hp
• Charging: 10% to 80% in 20 minutes
• Extras: vehicle-to-load capability for running external devices

Production happens in China through Geely’s Zhejiang Haoqing Automobile Manufacturing. The car is meant for Chinese buyers as well as Europe and other export markets.

The backstory matters here. The original ForTwo arrived in 1998 and racked up more than 2 million sales over its life. Smart, now a Mercedes-Benz and Geely joint venture, is essentially returning to the segment it was famous for — this time with a battery instead of a tiny petrol engine.

November 5 will tell us how Chinese buyers respond to a premium-priced two-seater in a market that has been leaning hard toward bigger, cheaper EVs.