Mercedes-Benz and Geely have chosen a name for their new global smart joint venture. It will from now on be referred to as “smart Europe”.
From now on, smart, an exclusively electric car brand, will be almost entirely under the supervision of Geely. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz will cover the design part. Smart Europe GmbH will be a wholly owned subsidiary, to supply, sell and service future smart models in the European market.
The headquarter of the new subsidiary will be in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Stuttgart.
Smart will thus enter the B-segment range with its first products that Geely will launch starting 2022. The company will thus leave its micro-car manufacturer image aside. The fans of the brand will have to deal with cars of whole new proportions. They should expect to see a small-size crossover as the first model of the joint venture.
An international team will take the new global smart joint venture between Geely and Mercedes-Benz to a whole new level
An international team will set out the plan for the upcoming years for the all-electric brand. The new CEO of smart Automobile Co. Ltd is Xiangbei Tong. He is the one who appointed Dirk Adelmann as the new CEO of the new smart Europe joint venture.
Daniel Lescow will be the Vice President of Sales, Marketing and After Sales. In the game, he brings his six-year experience in working in the Chinese market and several other in growing the smart brand in Europe. Jun Yang will be the one in charge of the technical developments, covering the position of Vice President of Research & Development, following a 25-year experience in the automotive industry.
Ulf Nestler, working for Mercedes-Benz China for the past eight years, will from now on lead the Finance department.
Martin Gunther will join the team as the Chief Financial Officer of smart Europe.