Smart EQ ForTwo and ForFour arrive as first models on Mercedes' EQ electric car brand

The Smart EQ ForTwo, ForFour and ForTwo Carbio electric cars have been tasked with spearheading parent company Mercedes’ electric EQ brand.

While some imagined the first production EQ model would be a version of one of Mercedes’ EQ concept cars, like the Concept EQA, the German carmaker has confirmed subsidiary company Smart will be its EQ vanguard.

• Geneva Motor Show 2018: latest news

The Smart EQ ForTwo, EQ ForFour and EQ ForTwo Cabrio will all be offered with an optional fast 22kW on-board charger from May. Priced at €840 (equivalent to £748), this will enable their batteries to be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in under 40 minutes.

15

Marking the launch of the EQ brand is a new Smart Nightsky Edition, available with the ForTwo, ForFour and ForTwo Carbio, and featuring black alloy wheels together with a “hallmark blue EQ paint finish”.

A new smartphone app for your Smart will also be offered from “mid 2018”. Dubbed the Smart EQ Control app, it will allow owners to monitor states of charge and pre-condition cabin temperatures.

A ‘Ready to Share’ option has also been launched for buyers of new petrol and electric Smart ForTwos and ForFours in Germany, Italy and France. Essentially a digital key, the Ready to Share option allows Smart owners to authorise friends, colleagues and family members to open their car with a smartphone app. While the service won’t directly allow the car to be started, owners will be able to lock a key inside the car for others to use.

Launching the EQ Smarts, the company’s chief executive, Dr Annette Winkler, said: "With the smart EQ ForTwo/ForFour, we are putting the first products from the Mercedes-Benz Cars EQ family on urban roads and showing how much fun electric mobility can be."

Check out our list of the best electric cars on sale...