2021: A year of global pandemic

The year 2021 has been another year of pandemic around the world. As September arrives, I thought that the Frankfurt Auto Show (IAA) would not take place, but it has been moved to Munich. Frankfurt Auto Show, one of the world’s five major auto shows, will be renamed as the Munich Auto Show starting this year.

It makes me sigh for the passing of an era.

Although the exhibition was successfully held, the pandemic still had an undeniable impact.

This year, many new cars were launched through live broadcasts, which directly led to a significant decline in the number of visitors and display vehicles, which reached the lowest level in years.

However, one data point has set a new record. If my calculations are correct, the proportion of pure electric display vehicles exceeded half for the first time.

It makes me sigh for the passing of an era once again.

Smart: Brand Renewal?

#1?

Smart, the brand with a unique design sense, has also introduced a new concept car this time:

Smart #1.

According to official information, its official Chinese name is the new Smart #1 Concept Car.

Now, the global roadshow of the new Smart #1 Concept Car is in full swing in China.

This is the first all-round display of the brand after its comprehensive renewal, showcasing the infinite charm of Smart’s luxury and future technology to Chinese car enthusiasts.

And the word “#1” no longer implies, but explicitly aims to be the first.

1. Largest Ever

In my impression, Smart looked like this:

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And like this:

Anyway, whether it’s a two-seater or a four-seater, a microcar or a sports car, open or closed, they all look so cool.

But this brand new concept car, exceeds all of smart’s previous works:

Moreover, it is also an SUV with a body size of 4,290 x 1,910 x 1,698 mm and a wheelbase of 2,750 mm…

2. The first pure electric platform

What’s more, the smart Elf #1 is also the first smart car based on a pure electric platform. Although no one can guarantee how similar it will be to its current appearance after mass production, it is obviously no longer an electric microcar with a range of only 130 km.

3. The first intelligent car

Until last year, the intelligence level of smart’s cockpit was limited to:

In contrast, the smart Elf #1 concept car, relying on a brand new pure electric platform and electronic-electrical architecture, indicates that the new smart pure electric SUV will not only have a larger car display, but also be equipped with mainstream ADAS system.

Of course, like other smart cars, it also possesses OTA upgrade function.

Smart Universe Renewal

If we consider Marvel and DC, the two giants of US comics, as car manufacturers, then the comic artists who serve them are product managers and engineers, and their characters are analogous to specific car models.

If comics need to consistently reboot to keep fans feeling fresh, then auto brands must also renew themselves to appeal to today’s target audience.

This time, the introduction of smart’s new concept car and brand positioning feels like casting the hottest celebrity influencer to play an established character. The familiar formula, different spices, a brand-new taste, and more satisfaction.

Moreover, the new brand positioning of “new luxury pure electric car technology brand”, especially the words “new luxury”, both demonstrate smart’s commitment to following current trends and also initiate a greater challenge. After all, Generation Z’s youth may not necessarily follow the traditional pattern of survival-type consumption, developmental consumption, and enjoyment-type consumption; they may want it all.

What does “new luxury” look like?

Streamlined

Compared to smart’s current electric model, EQ forfour, the changes in design for the Elves #1 concept car are like night and day.

On the Elves #1, designers eliminated the characteristic line running through the door handles of previous models. The door handles themselves also adopt the flush design used in electric cars. The overall shape of the body is more rounded and biologically-inspired, displaying a hint of warmth and nobility.

The upward curve inherits the original smart design, but the stronger three-dimensional sense brings out a new power and beauty that was not present before. The visual elements are also synchronized, not limited to the front grille and the floating roof which form an elegant gold color that enhances the new luxury aesthetic.

The 21-inch wheels bring a proportionate compression to the SUV, with a wheelbase of 2,750mm, still smart in look. The clamshell hood commonly seen in sports cars reduces the seams on the side of the car and adds a sense of elegance with smoother and uninterrupted lines.

The floating-style roof line and black side skirts create a visual effect of compression from front to back, successfully shifting the visual center of gravity of the SUV to a more symmetrical position.

Apart from the smoother contour, the biggest changes are the front and rear lights. Instead of resembling previous smart designs, they are more like the Mercedes-Benz EQ series. The upward design language anchors and elevates the product style, and the light beads can even change dynamically with the music.

More luxurious

If the vehicle’s exterior design is more of an engineering and industrial realm, the interior of the fairy #1 concept car better reflects the atmosphere of new luxury and fashion.

Open the door-opening pairs that may not appear in the mass-produced version, and we will find that the cabin color scheme echoes the exterior design.

Two points about the interior of Elf #1 concept car impressed me.

The first point is that the huge glass roof and without B-pillar design bring a rare spacious experience for small cars. In fact, many times, the reason why we feel narrow is not that the spatial data of the vehicle is not good, but that the feeling of space is too closed. The combination of not very high door upper edges and bright interior colors further enhances the sense of openness.

The second point that impressed me is very grounded. Unlike the low-key matte gold embellishment on the body, the large-area gold-plated interior, whether it is pure gold or anodized aluminum, really brings a very blatant sense of luxury. In fact, I don’t think there is anything wrong with this. For some Z-generation users who always show off luxury brands with big logos, it may be a little too much just right.

As a legend in the West Coast hip-hop world, beats founded by Dr. Dre, who has supported Snoop Dogg and Eminem, also appeared as an in-car audio system in this smart. Since this is the case, everyone knows what music is the most suitable for this car, right? From a small and expensive grocery car with a fuzzy positioning, it has become a young and exquisite urban commuting tool, and the positioning can be said to be becoming more and more obvious.

Smarter

Smart has two layers of meaning. One is agility, and the other is intelligence as taught in English class. If the older generation of Smart only played the first layer of meaning, the new generation of Smart obviously places more emphasis on the second layer of meaning.

The element of “metaverse,” which is hailed as the next generation of the internet, is also present in the car’s smart infotainment system. The main menu is a blue 3D planet located in the center of the control screen, and users can summon an Avatar assistant on the screen via voice commands to give specific instructions. With AI technology, the Avatar assistant will have the ability to learn and continuously optimize interaction feedback based on user behavior.

From the “AD OK” button in the control area on the left side of the concept car’s steering wheel, it can be seen that the car is equipped with AD (Autonomous Driving) function. The hardware aspect is currently unknown, but considering the products already available on the same platform, as well as the resources of the group and suppliers, it is also worth looking forward to.

Mercedes-Benz lineage

From a famous family

Yes, although the Smart brand has undergone some changes in ownership, it is still designed by the Mercedes-Benz team. If you are not familiar with the great Wagner above, we can review his portfolio:

In addition to personally creating numerous eternal classics for Mercedes-Benz, Wagner also collaborated with the late famous trend designer Virgil Abloh, who brought street style into the luxury goods industry, on two joint concept cars representing Mercedes-Benz.

As the Chief Design Officer of Daimler AG, who has such rich experience, Gordon Wagner said:

The all-new smart elf #1 concept car represents a comprehensive renewal of the smart brand, and future products will become more mature, perfectly integrating new luxury trends with tomorrow’s technology. Our designers have injected it with new design genes, making it have the potential to become a leading design brand in the industry.

If we shift our attention back to the new smart, we can also see that it draws on the bold colors and simple lines that have emerged in street fashion in recent years.

Positioning?

Keeping Up With the Trend

The collaboration between smart and Beats not only applies to the cabin layout but also provides unique color matching joint-designed audio equipment for fans and car owners to purchase.

Moreover, the same-named boutique brand mall, smartidea, also strengthens the portrayal of brand positioning and the creation of user sense of belonging through unified color matching and product selection.

The mobile app has been upgraded, and the social feature has become a must-have item for today’s car companies to focus on user operations and user data.

Why an SUV?

This is actually a very simple question. First of all, pure electric vehicles will inevitably increase the thickness of the chassis, and an SUV that can ensure vertical space is an obvious solution. The flexible handling obtained by rear-wheel drive for traditional smart cars will not be reduced after becoming pure electric, but will benefit from the low center of gravity of the pure electric platform and high responsiveness of the motor, making the power no longer a shortcoming of small cars.

Secondly, the interior space is more spacious. The wheelbase of the Smart #1 Concept car accounts for 64% of the vehicle length. In comparison, this data for traditional fuel vehicles of the same size or even larger models is usually not higher than 60%. Therefore, compared to two-door models that can only become part of a personal or family’s second or even nth “backup car”, compact four-door SUVs face a larger customer base and are obviously more excellent in the market category, and the length of less than 4.4 meters still allows it to move freely in the city.

Practical but not lacking in sophistication

The “embracing contradiction” engraved in the genes of Smart tells me why practical small and medium-sized SUVs cannot be more exquisite? Although it has become an SUV, Smart seems to still be telling the logic of “small does not mean not high-end”.

The article also mentioned that on November 28th of this year, Virgil Abloh, who passed away, once swept the world with a series of graffiti-style designs, and brought the trend of street style into luxury goods.

Such trends are particularly easy to be further ignited by the outstanding driving force of the Z-generation idols, forming a new fashion consensus.

In today’s reality, seemingly everything is based on internet socialization. Wouldn’t people be willing to pay more for practical, good looking, and sophisticated things? Luxury goods possess such social attributes, so why can’t cars pursue the label of new luxury?

Therefore, electrification and intelligence may be the biggest foundation that allows the new category created by the refreshed smart to hold up.

Rather than waiting until feeling the crisis to consider a reboot, the pure electric intelligent reboot of smart is a normal and natural strategy in response to the changing times.

Well, now let’s see how many young people are willing to pay for “new luxury” like this.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.