Cycle & Carriage to begin sales of Smart cars in Singapore

ELECTRIC cars from Smart – a tie-up between Mercedes-Benz and China auto giant Geely – will be available in Singapore from the first half of 2024, with Cycle & Carriage (C&C) Singapore appointed as the authorised distributor.

C&C said on Thursday (Jan 4) that a new showroom for the brand is expected to open in the third quarter of 2024, on the third level of the Mercedes-Benz Center at 301 Alexandra Road.

The company is planning road shows where consumers can view and test drive the cars before the completion of the showroom.

C&C is also the Singapore distributor for Mercedes-Benz, Kia, Great Wall, Maxus, Mitsubishi, Citroen and DS.

Wilfrid Foo, managing director of C&C Singapore, said that Smart cars “fit in perfectly” to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) in Singapore.

The brand’s first model will be Smart 1, a compact sport utility vehicle (SUV).

This is one of three international models offered by Smart, which focuses on building compact EVs.

The other two are the Smart Fortwo, which is a conventional city car, and the Smart 3 small SUV. C&C also plans to sell the Smart 3 in Singapore, but no time frame has been confirmed.

Smart’s first car was produced in 1998 as a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, then called Daimler-Benz. In 2006, Daimler-Benz bought over the brand entirely.

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But in 2019, Smart was re-established as a joint venture with ownership evenly split between Daimler-Benz and Geely, and production was shifted to China. Daimler-Benz rebranded as Mercedes-Benz in 2022.

Both Smart 1 and 3 run on Geely-developed car platforms.

The Business Times understands that C&C will create a new division to run the Smart business. Currently, C&C’s car business has one division for Mercedes-Benz and another division for all other brands.

Smart is the third Chinese-owned car brand in C&C’s portfolio. C&C was appointed distributor for Maxus in 2015 and Great Wall in August 2023.

It is part of an influx of Chinese and Chinese-owned car brands in Singapore’s car industry. In 2023, Chinese brands Omoda, Seres, GAC Aion, Neta and Zeekr appointed distributors in Singapore.

The entry of Smart means that the Geely Group is the Chinese carmaker with one of the largest brand presences in Singapore. The majority of its other brands – Lotus, Polestar, Farizon, LEVC, Zeekr and Volvo – are already represented.