Mercedes-Benz’s new smart goes into production in Xi’an, using Geely’s PMA2 platform

On January 8, 2020, Geely and Mercedes-Benz announced the formal establishment of the smart brand global joint venture Zhimoda. In the future, the R&D and manufacturing of smart will be completed by Geely Automobile, and the design will be carried out by Mercedes-Benz. Responsible for Global Design. In the future, smart will be put into production at Geely's Xi'an base, and the first car will roll off the assembly line in 2022, when it will be supplied to China and other Mercedes-Benz markets around the world.

The online car market recently learned from Geely Automobile’s suppliers that the first smart product will be built using Geely’s PMA2 pure electric vehicle platform and will begin mass production in 2022. Geely Automobile's internal data shows that the PMA platform mainly produces three types of models, among which the PMA2 production model is a two-seater electric vehicle. In addition to the smart brand, Lynk & Co and Geely will also build their own new electric vehicles based on this platform. (The picture shows the overseas version of smart pure electric, non-domestic model)

In addition, according to the project information, it can be seen that the total life cycle production capacity of smart hatchback pure electric vehicles is between 170,000 and 230,000 units. If according to 6 Calculated over a life cycle of one year, the annual production capacity is expected to be between 28,000 and 38,000 vehicles. In addition to the Chinese market, smart pure electric models are also exported to Europe on China-Europe trains.

As for product details, judging from the entry-level PMA models of Lynk & Co/Geely, it is expected that smart’s first domestic car will be a hatchback sedan or a crossover-style pure electric A0-class model. The main competitor of the new car will be Great Wall after it is launched. MINI brand pure electric vehicle put into production by BMW joint venture.

Currently, Geely Automobile’s official bidding channel shows that smart has carried out brand user research and promoted research projects on product demand for smart pure electric vehicles, user portraits, smart brand perception, etc., such as user product preferences, consumption motivations, etc. Conduct research on application scenarios and preliminary exploration of the source of customer groups. This will form support for smart's future brand tone and pricing system.

As for the price that consumers are most concerned about, the smart pure electric vehicle to be launched in 2022 may meet the psychological expectations of most consumers. A few days ago, Mercedes-Benz CEO Kallinson said in an interview with foreign media: Smart's financial performance has been unsatisfactory in the past, and the best solution to this problem is to transfer the Smart brand to China. The joint venture established by Mercedes-Benz and Geely will be more attractive and more reasonable in terms of technology and cost structure. This means that the cost of a domestic smart pure electric vehicle made by Geely and designed by Mercedes-Benz will be much lower than the independent development cost of Mercedes-Benz. The final "saved" cost is also expected to be reflected in the selling price, thereby lowering the threshold for car purchase.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.