Hailed as a pioneer of motoring on launch in 1998, the loss-making Smart car has now been acquired by Geely, following a major investment by the Chinese brand.

Parent company Daimler has formed a joint venture with Geely, which will see production of the super-mini moved to China, with a focus strictly on all-electric engineering, rather than the current mix of combustion and hybrid. The partnership will see Daimler responsible for the design and styling of the Smart, whilst Geely will focus on the engineering.

Geely’s investment in the Smart brand continues a recent history of the Chinese brand taking stakes in large European firms. Volvo, Lotus and even the London Electric Vehicle Company are all part-owned by the large industrial group.

Geely Chairman, Li Shufu, said: ““We fully respect the value of smart. This brand has a unique appeal and strong commercial value. Geely Holding and Daimler look forward to this challenging and exciting new project, through which we will further push the introduction of premium electric products to give a better mobility experience to our customers.

“As equal partners, we are dedicated to promoting the smart brand globally; we will leverage our experience and global competencies in brand management, R&D, manufacturing, supply chain management and other areas.”

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