No, chargers may heat up and smell "electrical" when recharging empty batteries but should not smoke or overheat in normal conditions. I've not noted any abnormal smell with my VE 24/16 charger.

No, I haven't noticed anything and everything is running smoothly.

Assuming the appliance is otherwise working properly, this may be quite normal. Electronics that heat up always smell a bit. It is of course difficult to say whether this smell is interpreted as good, bad or very bad ;-)
If the appliance is new, there may be an extra smell at first.
If you're not sure, don't use the device unattended and observe it first.

I have been using the device every day for a good two years. I use it to charge my 24 volt batteries in my lorry, which is parked in a garage. I can't say that the appliance smells bad. It works perfectly.

No, not normal. Is the odour coming from the charger or the battery?

It shouldn't. Have you swapped +/-? What is the cross-section of the outgoing cable? Does it smell even when switched off?