Smart becomes a 50:50 JV between Daimler and Geely

Daimler and Geely have announced a new joint venture (JV) for Smart. As part of the JV, each of the two companies will hold an equal stake and manufacture all-electric Smart cars in China.

One of the key reasons for moving the production of Smart to China is that the country has more electric vehicles than all the other countries in the world combined. China also has over 100 cities with populations of more than 1 million, where the Smart is expected to be sold.

The JV will make cars in China and sell them in other countries as well. Global sales are scheduled to begin in 2022. Future Smart cars will also offer a ride-sharing service, 5G connectivity, package delivery to the boot as well as a ride-hailing service.

The existing line-up of Smart cars will continue till the end of its life cycle. The facelift models are expected to arrive this year while the Hambach, France production plant will start producing all-electric Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Existing employees will either work in the JV or get absorbed in other group companies.

Smart was first introduced in 1997 as an answer to urbanization. In 2002, it was offering connected car services to its owners via personal digital assistants (PDA).