Photo: smart
The love story between German company Daimler and Chinese auto group Geely finally produced its first offspring, nearly a year after the decision to tie the knot with the goal of making the smart brand great again was announced.
In the first days of 2020, Daimler and Geely announced they have officially established the joined venture that will oversee the rebirth of smart. Called smart Automobile Co., the offspring is backed by a 5.4 billion RMB capital ($777 million), coming in equal measure from each of the two companies.
As part of the deal announced last year, Mercedes will handle the design aspects of future models, but the building of the cars themselves will be handled by Geely. That means the production of future smart cars will be moved to China.
Until then, the current smart facility in Hambach, France, will continue to produce smart vehicles in the form of the EQ fortwo until the new models are launched.
“Having received all necessary regulatory approvals we are now ready to start the joint venture with our partner Geely that has been in preparation for the past several months,” said in a statement Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler.
“The joint venture will bring the next generation of zero-emission smart electric cars to the Chinese and global markets. We look forward to continue our collaboration to bring desirable products and services to customers around the world.”
As most other things Geely, all future smart cars will be solely electric, something Daimler has been doing for some time now with its baby brand. There are no details yet on how many new models will be launched, or how different they will be from what we are used to.
The smart tie-up between the two companies comes on the heels of several other joint projects, including the joint Mobility Division that is working on a new premium ride-hailing service in China.
In early 2018, Geely also became Daimler’s largest single shareholder buying a 9.67 percent share in the German company.
As part of the deal announced last year, Mercedes will handle the design aspects of future models, but the building of the cars themselves will be handled by Geely. That means the production of future smart cars will be moved to China.
Until then, the current smart facility in Hambach, France, will continue to produce smart vehicles in the form of the EQ fortwo until the new models are launched.
“Having received all necessary regulatory approvals we are now ready to start the joint venture with our partner Geely that has been in preparation for the past several months,” said in a statement Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler.
“The joint venture will bring the next generation of zero-emission smart electric cars to the Chinese and global markets. We look forward to continue our collaboration to bring desirable products and services to customers around the world.”
As most other things Geely, all future smart cars will be solely electric, something Daimler has been doing for some time now with its baby brand. There are no details yet on how many new models will be launched, or how different they will be from what we are used to.
The smart tie-up between the two companies comes on the heels of several other joint projects, including the joint Mobility Division that is working on a new premium ride-hailing service in China.
In early 2018, Geely also became Daimler’s largest single shareholder buying a 9.67 percent share in the German company.
Google News