UPDATE, April 1, 2022: The 2023 Smart #1 will be revealed next week, with the carmaker set to lift the covers off its first fully-electric model.

The Mercedes-Benz designed and Geely-built model is set to be revealed to the world in the early hours of the morning on April 8 at 2am Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).

It will be Smart’s first car to launch after its partnership with Chinese manufacturer Geely began in 2019, with a handful of features from the initial #1 concept expected to be dropped to meet safety requirements, reflected in design patents uncovered last year.

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February 14, 2022: The 2023 Smart #1 has been announced as the first model to come from the brand’s all-new model range.

Smart teased the all-electric #1 undergoing cold-weather testing in the far north of China and in a wind tunnel, but has yet to unveil any details about its electric powertrain.

The brand says the hash symbol “is evocative of trendsetting in the digital era,” as it revealed the unconventional naming convention for the line-up.

Unlike a number of other electric cars suffering through winter in the Northern Hemisphere in recent months, Smart announced the new model features “ice breaking functions” on the concealed door handles, ensuring owners can still get into the car even when covered in a thin layer of ice.

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While the carmaker has gone through a number of partnerships since its inception in 1994, the new crop of Smart cars are designed by Mercedes-Benz, but engineered and built by Geely in China.

With the Smart #1 set to be unveiled later this year, the company is aiming to sell its new range of electric city cars in Europe, but there’s no word yet on whether the brand will be reintroduced to Australia after leaving the country in 2015 due to poor sales.

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