On August 30, just two days after its global debut in Australia, the smart #5 Jungle Edition made its Chinese debut at the Chengdu Auto Show.
Smart has clearly defined the positioning of this vehicle: it aims to target the mainstream mid-size SUV market.
Yi Han, CEO of Smart China Marketing, stated, “I cannot make smart #5 a delicate and exclusive product. We won't turn it into something small and beautiful; for me, this is a return to mainstream marketing while adhering to smart's brand DNA and tone, which is key to successfully developing this vehicle.”
The so-called “return” is essentially a complete overturn
From narrow urban streets to the muddy jungles of Suffolk Park in Australia, and then to the Western China Expo City in Chengdu. While the smart #1 and #3 broke away from the brand's original quirky and refined image, retaining some of their whimsical character, the smart #5 attempts to shatter the “urban companion” persona built over the past four years, seeking a place in the hardcore outdoor lifestyle, an arena the brand has never ventured into before.
The smart #5 is positioned as a luxurious, five-seat SUV, with a body length of 4705mm and a wheelbase of 2900mm, boasting an 85% “usable area.” Additionally, the new model is equipped with a 100kWh ternary lithium battery, an 800V pure electric high-voltage platform, and 4C superfast charging technology, allowing it to charge 70% in just 15 minutes, with a maximum range of 740 km according to CLTC standards.
Seeing these familiar dimensions (sharing a platform with the Zeekr 7X) and conventional parameters raises questions. Does simply adding a smart logo and some mud decor suffice to satisfy the Chinese automotive market's psychology for outdoor luxury?
There’s no doubt that smart yearns to return to a more mainstream market. As Yi Han mentioned, the mid-size pure electric SUV market where the new smart #5 resides exceeds six million units, indicating greater market potential.
However, it’s clear that the competition is also growing stronger and more abundant.
If one seeks robustness, why not choose the Tank 300? If intelligence is the goal, why not opt for the Zeekr 7X on the same platform? For tone, why not go for the more luxurious Mercedes-Benz GLB, which has a similar positioning? Especially since smart's historically refined and compact tone clashes remarkably with the rugged image of the Jungle King, leaving fans bewildered and passersby puzzled.
Even Yi Han struggles to clearly articulate smart's positioning. He stated, “Smart exists between Geely and Mercedes-Benz, with its own inherent audience.” What does it mean to be “between Geely and Mercedes-Benz”? Such ambiguous language makes it challenging to grasp its specific market image.
Among the many sarcastic comments about the unconventional design of the smart #5, a Weibo user humorously remarked, “Is this shape not mainstream? It looks exactly like a typical domestic hardcore SUV.” While this comment seems to defend smart, it inadvertently extinguishes any hopes the brand had of standing out in this highly competitive market through its design.
Brand Refresh, Awkward Sales
If we stretch the timeline back, this is not smart's first attempt at a fresh start.
In 1994, Nicolas Hayek, CEO of the Swiss Swatch Group, envisioned “creating a small and compact car capable of navigating through metropolitan architectural clusters” and reached a collaboration with Mercedes-Benz. Both companies share a high standard of aesthetic appreciation, leading to the merging of their initials ‘s’ and ‘m’ along with the word “art”, forming the brand name smart.
In 1997, at the Frankfurt Auto Show, the first production car, smart city coupe, debuted, leaving an impression of fashion, individuality, and compactness with its two-door, two-seater design. The collaboration between these two giants infused smart with a light luxury and artistic essence. Due to its compact size, smart quickly became popular in the narrow streets of Europe and established itself as a globally recognized refined commuting vehicle.
By 2002, just four years after its official launch, smart broke sales records, reaching a global sales milestone of 150,000 units. In 2009, smart entered the Chinese market, and the following year the sales surpassed 4,000 units, with a year-on-year growth of 119%. From 2009 to 2014, total sales reached 55,000 units, with China becoming smart's third-largest market globally.
However, the demand in the Chinese market began to shift, with an overall decline in the A00 segment and local consumers leaning towards larger vehicles, resulting in a sales slump for smart. In 2018, smart's global sales were nearly 130,000 units, but by 2021, this number had plummeted to just 38,500 units, marking a critical situation.
In response, smart initiated a self-rescue operation. In early 2020, Geely Holding Group and Mercedes-Benz announced the formation of a global joint venture company for the smart brand, with both parties holding 50% shares; Mercedes led design while Geely took the helm in engineering development.
With the establishment of the joint venture, the smart brand underwent a comprehensive refresh, including its brand image, product line, and business model.
Focusing on the core product, the first model, smart #1, spans dimensions of 4270mm x 1822mm x 1636mm with a wheelbase of 2750mm. Retaining its refinement, it upgraded from a microcar to a compact SUV. Leveraging Geely’s technological expertise in the new energy sector, the smart brand also transitioned from fuel to electric vehicles.
Nevertheless, the revamped smart brand has not yet become a mainstream player.
Public data reveals that in 2023, smart’s models, the smart #1 and #3, had a combined global sales of 67,024 units, with 42,292 units sold in China. In comparison, Li Auto's sales in August alone reached 48,122 units. The total annual sales of these two models is still less than the monthly sales of leading new power brands. According to public information, in the first half of 2024, smart's average monthly retail sales have plummeted to around 2,000 units.
Amidst a price war, smart, lacking pricing power, has been forced to follow suit. In comments from smart's global CEO Tong Xiangbei, “We are not adjusting prices; we are tailoring them according to user demand,” the smart #1 and #3 saw reductions of 21,400-26,000 yuan and 36,000-56,000 yuan respectively this April. However, for smart, these price cuts did not spark a sales rebound; instead, existing customers who had recently purchased vehicles were genuinely frustrated by the sudden price drops.
Reflecting on the recent launch of the smart #5, with a wheelbase of 2900mm, it has adequate size and a sizable market, and Yi Han hopes to reach the goal of “doubling sales.
However, this also means that smart is once again straying from its original founding intent, plunging into a cut-throat market that does not align with its brand positioning. The dirt-covered smart #5 aims directly at the mainstream market; this attempt appears more like a last-ditch effort after the brand faced obstacles in the small/compact SUV segment.
