French newspaper L’Argus posted a rumor not long ago indicating that Renault and Smart brands may once again being producing entry-level cars together. Renault has now officially denied this rumor – but some of us may need more convincing than that.
As you may know, Renault and Geely – which owns the Smart car brand – co-founded a joint enterprise in China this summer. Renault announced last month that its new cars for South Korea would be based on Volvo’s CMA platform. Volvo is also a part of Geely now.
For its own part, L’Argus quoted an alleged insider claiming that the new platform designed for the Smart #2 EV was actually the same as AmpR Small, the underlying tech of the fourth-generation Renault Twingo. Both the Smart #2 and the Twingo are set to be released in 2026. If you connect the dots, it does look like Renault and Smart are planning on using the same low-end car platform in the future, whether they feel like admitting it or not.
Smart has designed and produced the latest #1 (shown here) and #3 EVs under Geely leadership.