Private company

Smart

German-Chinese automotive brand

Smart (stylized in lowercase) is a Swiss born-German automotive marque established in 1994 and currently operating as Smart Automobile Co., Ltd., a joint venture formed in 2019 by Mercedes-Benz AG and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, aimed at manufacturing Smart-badged cars in China to be marketed globally. The venture is headquartered in Ningbo.2 From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 16, 2026.

Overview

Feb 1994Founded1
  • Industryautomotive industry1
  • HeadquartersStuttgart1
  • Founded inBiel/Bienne1
  • Websitewww.smart.com
  • Legal formAktiengesellschaft, Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung1

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The story

Founded by Mercedes-Benz Group and Swatch on Feb 1994, in Biel/Bienne.1

Products and brands

  • car

Listed on Wikidata.1

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Owners

  • Smart Automobile 100% since 2019

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 2020Renamed Name changed to smart Europe GmbH1
  2. 2019Acquired Acquired by Geely1
  3. 2002Renamed Name changed to smart GmbH1
  4. 1999Renamed Name changed to Micro Compact Car smart GmbH1
  5. Feb 1994Founded Founded in Biel/Bienne1
  6. 1994Acquired Acquired by Mercedes-Benz Group1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2