In the automotive world, customer service has historically meant frustrating dealership upsells, call centres and faulty agents. For Smart, the goal is to flip that narrative entirely, reimagining customer service as a powerful growth engine. We sat down with Aymen Ismail, Customer Services Director at Smart Europe, at MOVE 2026, to discuss how data-driven personalization and proactive tech are turning the entire ownership journey into a vehicle for growth.
Building Smart’s customer platform from scratch allowed Aymen’s team to reinvent traditional customer service expectations and view the user experience as a single, continuous timeline. Rather than treating a vehicle as a static purchase, Smart keeps it evolving post-sale via over-the-air (OTA) software updates. By actively tracking real-time bug reports and blending vehicle telemetry with direct customer feedback, the team can push out functional upgrades that keep early models aligned with modern consumer expectations.
When it comes to the broader shift toward electrification, Aymen argues that the primary bottleneck isn’t charging infrastructure, but consumer education.
“Customers don’t fear the plug, they fear being stranded,” Aymen explains.
To bridge this confidence gap, Smart is actively taking responsibility for driver assurance, partnering with networks like Digital Charging Solutions to offer transparent, cross-border public charging access across Europe.
That same focus on problem-solving extends to Smart’s approach to artificial intelligence. Instead of using automation to deflect users away from human agents, smart is developing an in-house platform, Smart.ai, designed to give customer support teams and service networks faster, automated tools to resolve actual mechanical and software issues.
Looking ahead to the next 12 to 24 months, smart is doubling down on this philosophy with the rollout of “Smart Care,” a dedicated service sub-brand. Launching alongside the production version of their reinvented urban icon, the Hashtag 2, Smart Care aims to treat the entire ownership lifecycle, from roadside breakdown support to customized digital services, as a core product that drives long-term brand loyalty.
Watch the full interview with MOVEmnt.net Editor Eve Stevens below.
