It only takes three and a half hours to charge the battery from 30 to 80 percent of its capacity. An empty battery can be fully charged in no more than eight hours, for example overnight.

The electric engine is located in the rear, installed into the three engine mounts exactly where the combustion engine would be in a conventional vehicle. The transmission, which has been locked in second gear, is likewise in the rear of the car. The smart fortwo ev therefore does not need the smart fortwo’s gearshift knob, since it only uses one forward and one reverse gear.

The charge level indicator for the battery is where the rev counter would be in other vehicles in a central position on the instrument panel, together with the analogue clock. But that’s all that has changed. The interior and the luggage compartment are just as spacious as before, and even the smart fortwo ev's power storage unit – a sodium-nickel chloride battery manufactured by MES- DEA of Switzerland, is positioned centrally in the car's underbody.

Zytek Electric Vehicles converted an initial 100 smart fortwos to fully electric versions at their production facilities in Fradley, Staffordshire. These vehicles took part in a market trial by selected British customers as lease vehicles from 2007 to present.

The success of the UK trials has led to the smart 451 electric drive rolling of the production line from October 2009 through to March 2011. During this time 1,000 smart EDs will be produced at a dedicated Zytek facility at the smart fortwo assembly plant in Hambach, France.