Smart is considering a Forfour successor after new city car

A successor to the smart Forfour (#4) is a possibility. It will use the new bespoke platform being developed for the Fortwo replacement (#2).

The new city car is due out next year, along with updates for the #1 crossover and #3 coupé-crossover. They will join the #5 SUV flagship, deliveries of which are set to start soon. 

While there are no launch plans set in stone for a new #4, the brand is certainly considering it to offset the expense of a new #2 platform. The previous four-seat city car went out of production in 2006.

Like the #2 sibling, a new Forfour will be designed and engineered for European buyers, and use the same mechanicals as the #2.

The latter, which is said to be in the design stages now, “needed to look like a successor” to the original, according to a Smart insider.

Dirk Adelmann, smart’s CEO in Europe, said another car is needed to complement the #2. “We need the economies of scale,” he said. 

“The tricky part was to get it small enough for the #2; it’s much easier to expand slightly.”

Adelmann confirmed the #2’s platform is likely to use a dual-motor set-up. 

“The wishlist features we gave to engineering was a very small turning circle to make [the #2] really practical in city centres.”

Evidently, Geely in China and Mercedes in Europe are co-developing the platform, a tilt to its European market destination. The current models were all designed by Mercedes but engineered by Geely.

“That’s very important because this team makes sure that we have a European product that is ready for European customers,” said Adelmann.

The new baby #2 is on course for a launch next year. It will sell at the premium end of the small electric car market, though will cost less than the #1. You’d hope so because that kicks off at $60k here.

As to the naming/numbering, the even numbers are reserved for non-SUVs. So the smallest non-SUV body type number is a #2. Yes, it’s higher than #1, but so be it.”

The concept of a Fortwo successor kicked off in 2019. Cost was the issue. “We always were trying to make it feasible but it took us three years longer than expected,” Adelmann said.

He added that smart has over two million Fortwo and Forfour customers in Europe wanting a new small car. And the retail network has also been crying out for a Fortwo successor.

Prior to #2 launching, there will be a “big” model-year update for #1 and #3 which includes hardware changes. An even bigger facelift will follow in 2027.