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Mercedes and China's Geely team up to take electric Smart cars global
The companies have poured $780 million into the initiative.
Last year Smart became the first car brand to switch to an all-EV lineup -- now its parent company Mercedes-Benz has got a new partner to help bring its electrification ambitions to fruition. While Mercedes will continue to design the vehicles, China's Geely -- which owns Volvo -- will take care of the manufacturing and engineering.
The venture, called "smart Automobile Co., Ltd." will see Mercedes and Geely contribute a total of 5.4 billion Chinese Yuan (roughly $780 million) to the initiative, which aims to expand Smart's EV-only portfolio with a new range of global products, slated for launch in 2022.
Given Mercedes' brand and heritage, it's unlikely that its own-brand lineup will become 100 percent electric any time soon, but the company's continued investment in electrification in other areas of its business, such as Smart, shows it's still going to great lengths to succeed in this area.
