Geely Benz officially landed in Ningbo, and mini pure trams will enter thousands of households?

Undeniably, although domestic cars started late, they developed very rapidly. Speaking of today's domestic car boss, Geely should be in the limelight for some time. Swedish luxury brands Volvo and British Chelutes have purchases, but a series of international big moves have not stopped the people who eat melons.

In recent days, Li Shufu has made big moves again. 65438+1On October 8, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (hereinafter referred to as "Geely Holding") and Mercedes-Benz Limited (hereinafter referred to as "Mercedes-Benz") announced that, with the approval of relevant regulatory authorities, smart Motor Automobile Co., Ltd. (smart? Cars? The company? Ltd.) was formally established to jointly operate and promote the transformation and upgrading of the smart brand on a global scale.

Create a new model of joint venture

It is reported that the registered capital of the joint venture company is 5.4 billion yuan, and both parties will each contribute 2.7 billion yuan. Mercedes-Benz mainly obtains corresponding shares in the form of smart brand investment. The two sides will play a synergistic role in R&D, manufacturing, supply chain and other fields, and strive to build smart into a leading high-end electric smart car brand in the world. The global headquarters of the joint venture company is located in Hangzhou Bay New District, Ningbo, China, with marketing centers in China and German respectively.

The new generation of pure electric smart will be designed by the global design department of Mercedes-Benz, and the global R&D center of Geely Holding will be responsible for engineering research and development. The new model will be produced in a brand-new factory in China, and it is expected to be put on the market and sold worldwide in 2022. According to the new car development plan, smart's future product lineup will expand to the fast-growing compact market segment.

It is worth mentioning that, unlike the previous joint venture company, Geely and Mercedes-Benz will create an unprecedented new joint venture model in the global automobile field, namely "cooperation in the whole industry chain+serving global users". This means that this cooperation is not a "market for technology" as before, but a real cooperation of brands, technologies and products. The intellectual level of China, represented by Geely, is gradually recognized internationally.

Why did you choose "smart"?

The big moves of the two have also attracted the attention of all parties, and why did the two sides choose to start with "cleverness"?

As we all know, as a brand owned by Mercedes-Benz, smart has its own unique brand charm and core value. Its compact shape and intelligent and humanized control design make it very popular abroad, and with the development of the new four modernizations, smart is also committed to the field of high-end electrical intelligence.

Now it seems that cooperation with Geely is also a very good thing. First, the China market has great development potential, and now China has become the second largest sales market of smart in the world, indicating that this potential can be developed; Secondly, Geely itself is very powerful. As a player of "buy in buy", Geely has rich cooperation experience, and Volvo, which once suffered huge losses, has also "rejuvenated" with the help of Geely, and its sales volume has continued to climb. Therefore, if a joint venture with Geely produces "smart", the price of Smart will also be reduced. Coupled with Geely's influence and Smart's cute and compact image, there is a great chance of success in the field of electric vehicles.

Can the mini-car market usher in the "second spring"?

There is no doubt that today's mini-car market is declining.

In China, which advocates beauty, the market of mini-cars and small cars is actually being gradually compressed. According to the wholesale data of the Federation, in June this year, the cumulative sales volume of the small car market was 78 135, down 42.4% year-on-year. In June, the cumulative sales volume of the small car market was 907,870, down year-on-year. Is there really no room for development in the micro-electric vehicle market?

The answer is obviously no, judging from the actions of major car companies, everyone is still unwilling to give up this market. For example, the Great Wall has specially built an Euler brand to compete for the mini-car market. The small ant EQ 1 created by Chery New Energy also shines in the mini-car market. Needless to say, the joint production of smart by Geely and Mercedes-Benz is obviously aimed at this market.

Facts have proved that mini-cars have not been abandoned by everyone, but, like other market segments, they are also in the transition of super-boutique routes. After all, in the highly competitive automobile market, it is definitely not feasible to build a car casually. Only when the products pass the customs can they be truly recognized by consumers. Geely's ambition to promote the transformation and upgrading of the smart brand can be seen.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.