Details of new Smart car leaked in regulatory filing… but you can’t have it

A new version of the tiny Smart car, called the Smart #2, showed up in a Chinese government filing, revealing details ahead of its official reveal expected at the Paris Motor Show in October. Built through a partnership between Mercedes and Geely, the car is a bit bigger than past Smart models but still small by US standards, at about 108 inches long and 2,491 pounds. It runs on an LFP (lithium iron phosphate) battery with cells from CATL, paired with an 80-horsepower motor that can hit 87 mph. The filing didn't list battery size.

The car is expected to go on sale in China and Europe, but not in the United States. Current US tariffs and restrictions on Chinese-made EVs and their software effectively keep vehicles like this out of the American market, so this isn't a car you'll be able to buy here anytime soon, even after it launches elsewhere.

There's no news here about home energy programs or rebates. If you're weighing an EV purchase and want to power it at home, pairing an electric vehicle with rooftop solar remains a separate option worth researching on its own, but nothing about this particular car applies to US buyers for now. Geely has mentioned interest in eventually entering the US EV market, so that could change down the road, but there's no timeline for that yet.