From：Greg Kable 2019-03-29 13:20:00
Chinese car maker to acquire 50 per cent stake in Daimler’s electric city car brand; Smart production to switch to China from 2022
Chinese car maker Geely has taken a 50 per cent stake in Smart from Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler, the two companies have confirmed.
Daimler and Geely plan to establish a 50:50 joint venture company to run the Smart city car brand, which will exclusively offer electric powered models from 2022.
Under the deal, production of Smart models will shift to a new purpose-built electric car factory run by Geely in China.
Mercedes-Benz will continue to be responsible for the design and styling, with Geely set to lead the engineering and production processes.
As part of the joint venture plan, full details of which are still to be finalized between Daimler and Geely, the Smart line-up will be expanded to include a B-segment model. It is expected to join successor models to today’s Fortwo and Forfour.
The German-Sino tie-up is intended to further develop the Smart brand as “a leader in premium-electrified vehicles,” according to a joint statement generated by Daimler and Geely.
Geely already holds a 9.7 per cent stake in Daimler. It is also the parent company to Lynk and Co, Proton, Lotus, Volvo Car Group, Polestar, Geely New Energy, Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group, London Electric Vehicle Company, Yuan Cheng, Qianjiang Motorcycles, flying car company Terrafugia and mobility solutions company Caocao.
Geely CEO Li Shufu said, “We fully respect the value of Smart. As equal partners, we are dedicated to promoting the Smart brand globally.”
Existing Smart models will continue to be produced at Daimler’s Hambach plant in France (Fortwo) and Renault’s Novo Mesto factory in Slovenia (Forfour).
Daimler says it will invest €500 million (RMB3.8 billion) in its Hambach site to ready it for the production of a future compact model in its new EQ range of electric vehicles.
The Smart joint venture will be headed by a board of six directors, split evenly between Daimler and Geely. They include Hubertus Troska, Daimler board member responsible for China, Britta Seeger, Daimler board member responsible for marketing, and Markus Schäfer, member of the divisional board of management of Mercedes-Benz Cars for production.
Geely board representatives will include Geely Holding CEO Li Shufu, Geely Holding president and Geely Auto Group president and CEO An Conghui, Geely Holding executive vice president and CFO, Daniel Donghui Li.
Financial terms of the Daimler-Geely deal have not yet been disclosed, and final details of the Smart joint venture are due to be completed by the end of 2019, according to the two companies.
