The company decided to tap into urban madness once again. Smart #2—a two-seater electric car approximately 2.75 meters long, designed primarily for megacities. It takes up minimal space, is perfect for short trips, and doesn’t try to act like a family minivan. This is a car for the person who doesn’t need to transport family, a dog, construction materials, or their own sense of importance. Get in, drive, and park where everyone else is just starting to curse.

Remember the Smart Fortwo—that tiny car that looked like Mercedes-Benz had been washed on a 90-degree cycle? It squeezed into gaps between normal cars, could almost perform a three-point turn on the spot, and only held as many people as a French balcony usually accommodates. Well, Smart #2 is back—and it’s brilliant! The company has declassified the series successor to the legendary little icon, production of which ended in 2024.

The world of singles—is it the perfect breeding ground for a Smart? By the way, the idea isn’t that crazy. According to Eurostat, the number of single-adult households without children in the EU has grown from 63.9 million in 2016 to 76.1 million in 2025—an increase of almost 19%. The trend toward independent living has existed for decades. People are increasingly structuring their lives around themselves; not everyone needs a large family, and the car is increasingly becoming a personal tool for the route: «home—work—store—date.» The Smart offers an honest alternative to automotive giantism. Why lug around a two-ton behemoth through the city when only one person and a cup of coffee are inside?

Will this little one even be allowed to survive in Russia? That’s where the problems begin. In a European city, a Smart #2 is capable of becoming a parking king, but in Russia, it will likely be crushed between two KamAZ trucks before it even has a chance to find a charging station. Here, compactness isn’t always an advantage. On the parking lot, a neighbor might open their door as if launching a catapult; in the courtyard, someone might press it against the wall; and on the road, the shiny little electric car could end up between a bus and an SUV, whose drivers won’t even notice a new type of vehicle has appeared in their blind spot.

Automotive industry has become so consumed with producing car-wardrobes that the little car again seems like a revolution. Everyone is selling crossovers as if each of us is daily transporting a sofa, three children, and a bag of potatoes. But Smart reminds us: sometimes a car is simply needed to get from point A to point B without having to hunt for parking. Cities remain cramped. The number of people living independently is growing. But whether the world is ready to buy tiny cars again will only be clear when they stop being priced like full-sized automobiles.