Smart is a brand known for its extremely small, but highly efficient micro-cars. It is a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz (its original owner) and Geely, a Chinese automaker. Its vehicles are among the smallest in the world and are designed as urban runabouts. New Smart cars are no longer sold in the U.S. market.
In this article:
Who Makes Smart Cars?
Though the concept of a Daimler-built city car dates back to a 1970s concept, Smart was not actually founded until 1994. It was joint venture between Daimler and Swatch (the watch company). The name is a combination of “Swatch Mercedes ART.” Its first product was the City-Coupe, which was released in 1998, followed by a number of variants and evolutions through the years. In 2011, it released the all-electric Fortwo EV and in 2019, it became a completely electric brand as a joint-venture between Mercedes-Benz (a division of Daimler) and Geely. Its vehicles are built in China.
