Geely Group will buy 50 percent of Smart

Daimler will sell half of Smart’s shares to Geely, a Chinese company that owns Geely Auto, Lotus, Lynk & Co, Proton and Volvo. Insiders in the company report that this will be officially announced before the start of the Shanghai Auto Show, which will be held from April 16 to 25.

Yesterday we’ve got the information that Daimler will decide the fate of Smart before the end of this year.

The concern’s management is dissatisfied with the financial results and “without hesitation” will “kill” the brand if it is required to reduce costs.”

Experts associate such a decision with the Daimler’s desire to become an electric mobility service provider and electric vehicle manufacturer, which will require significant investments.

According to official information, at the end of 2018, the total sales of Smarts amounted to 128 802 copies, which is 4.6 percent less than a year earlier. The annual loss of the brand is 500-700 million euros.

In 2018, Geely (officially named Zhejiang Geely Holding Group) acquired a 9.7 percent stake in Daimler. The deal went through a subsidiary of Tenaciou3 Prospect Investment, owned by the founder of the group, Li Shufu.