Skip to main content

Daimler and Geely to develop Smart’s electric cars

Daimler, owner of Mercedes-Benz, has partnered with Chinese automotive group Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to develop Smart’s electric cars. Smart makes small vehicles designed for urban driving and the new joint venture will assemble the next generation of Smart products at a factory in China. International sales are due to begin in 2022. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the Daimler board, says: “Separately, Mercedes-Benz will produce a compact electric vehicle [EV] at the Hambach plant, sustaining employ
April 9, 2019 Read time: 1 min

2069 Daimler, owner of 1685 Mercedes-Benz, has partnered with Chinese automotive group Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to develop Smart’s electric cars.

Smart makes small vehicles designed for urban driving and the new joint venture will assemble the next generation of Smart products at a factory in China. International sales are due to begin in 2022.  

Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the Daimler board, says: “Separately, Mercedes-Benz will produce a compact electric vehicle [EV] at the Hambach plant, sustaining employment with further investment in the facility.”

Mercedes is investing €500 million at the French location, where the compact EV will be produced under the EQ brand.

In the run-up to 2022, Daimler will continue producing vehicles such as the Smart EQ Fortwo at the Hambach plant, as well as using its Novo Metso facility in Slovenia to produce the smart EQ Forfour.

Related Content

  • October 9, 2018
    Car2go launches electric car-sharing service in Paris
    Car-share platform Car2go will launch in Paris in January 2019. The Daimler-owned company will start with 400 electric Smart EQ fortwo cars and says it expects to operate several hundred more in the French capital over the course of next year. “Paris offers ideal conditions for our free-floating car-sharing principle. I’m certain that Paris will become a very successful Car2go location,” says Car2go CEO Olivier Repper. Car2go’s service also has fully-electric fleets in three other European cities:
  • July 4, 2017
    Daimler Buses introduces pedestrian recognition for buses
    Daimler Buses is launching the new Active Brake Assist 4 (ABA 4) with pedestrian recognition which it says is the world's first emergency braking assistance system in a bus to automatically brake for pedestrians.
  • October 2, 2018
    Shock therapy: jolt for EV charging needed
    As sales of electric vehicles accelerate, the growth of charging infrastructure is in need of a big boost. Graham Anderson reports on whether Europe is up to it. Utilities, technology companies and vehicle manufacturers are battling to put in place new charging networks for electric vehicles (EVs) across Europe in response to a predicted dramatic surge in demand. Market experts believe that rapidly falling battery costs – which make up about one third of the costs of an electric car – and growing
  • March 13, 2012
    Smith Electric Vehicles attracts Chinese investment
    Smith Electric Vehicles Corporation, a specialist in all-electric commercial vehicles, has signed a letter of intent with Wanxiang Group, an automotive parts manufacturing and supplier.