That gives Proton just a few months to sell the car before the government plans to pull the plug on its import, excise and road tax exemptions for imported EVs.
Despite the impending discontinuation of tax incentives, the national carmaker expects to sell between 800 to 1,000 Smart cars annually. That’sThe car itself: Smart #1 The Smart #1 is the first product of the joint venture. Developed by Geely in Ningbo, China, it rides on the company’s new Sustainable Electric Architecture but features styling by Mercedes in Germany.
Unlike the tiny Smart Fortwos of yore, the #1 has seating for five. The cabin is dominated by a large 12.8-inch centre touchscreen, running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8155 automotive processor and incorporating a low-poly globe-style interface with a fox avatar.