2020 July 27, Ningbo, China, Stuttgart, Germany. The new global smart joint venture between Geely Holding (Geely) and Mercedes-Benz AG (Mercedes-Benz), formally registered as ‘smart Automobile Co. Ltd.’ (smart) in Hangzhou Bay, Ningbo, China at the end of 2019 has established ‘smart Europe GmbH’ (smart Europe) as a wholly owned subsidiary to supply, sell and service future smart vehicles in the European market.
The smart brand, a global pioneer in urban mobility, will write the next chapter in its history as a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely. A new all-electric vehicle architecture will become the foundation for smart’s entry into the premium B-segment range with its first products tentatively set to launch from 2022.
smart confirms global executive team
With a course set for a new generation of vehicles, the smart brand has named the executive team to support Chief Executive Officer, Xiangbei Tong:
Daniel Lescow has been appointed Vice President of Sales, Marketing and After Sales. He brings over several years of experience in growing the smart brand and has spent six years working in the Chinese market.
With over 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, Jun Yang will take charge of technical development as Vice President Research & Development. He has strong experience in leading full vehicle programs at Geely Holding’s subsidiary brands.
Ulf Nestler will serve as the Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer. For the past eight years, he has contributed to the strong growth of Mercedes-Benz in China.
smart Europe is readying with an international team
As a wholly owned subsidiary, smart Europe will be located in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Stuttgart. With an international team, the newly established company will manage all Sales, Marketing and After-Sales activities of the next generation of smart vehicles, products and services in the European markets.
After holding several Executive Sales & Marketing roles in the global Mercedes-Benz network, Dirk Adelmann successfully transformed smart into an electric-only brand on the retail level and has been appointed as the CEO of smart Europe by Xiangbei Tong. In his new role, he will focus on establishing a highly efficient and customer-centric business model by leveraging the full potential of the joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely for the European markets.
Martin Günther as an experienced Finance and Controlling Executive within the Mercedes-Benz Aftersales organization has been appointed as the CFO of smart Europe GmbH.