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SMART history
SMART company history timeline
A deal was announced on 4 March 1994, at a press conference at Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Stuttgart, that the companies would join forces in founding Micro Compact Car AG (MCC). 49% of the initial capital of 50 million Swiss francs were provided by SMH and the remaining 51% by Daimler-Benz.
By the end of April 1994, MCC had set up a head office in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
By May 1994, the co-directors had identified 74 potential sites for the assembly plant.
The final site was announced on 20 December 1994: Hambach, France.
Recapitalization by Daimler-Benz increased their share of ownership in the company to 81% by 1996, leaving SMH with only the remaining 19%.
The assembly plant opened on 27 October 1997, with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting by then-French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
After brief backing by Volkswagen, the first model was released by Daimler-Benz in October 1998.
The car launched successfully in nine European countries in October 1998, but the final design did not fulfill Hayek's expectations.
In 2005, Daimler decided against purchasing a 50% share in the Dutch NedCar plant used to manufacture the ForFour, ending its production.
In 2006, after dwindling sales and heavy financial losses, Smart GmbH was liquidated and its operations were absorbed by DaimlerChrysler directly.
In 2019, Daimler announced the establishment of a joint venture partnership with Chinese automaker Geely.
In 2021, the first concept of this partnership, called Concept #1, was unveiled at the Munich Motor Show.
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SMART competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIP Tires & Service | 1958 | $348.4M | 1,000 | 72 |
| Mercedes-Benz USA | 1965 | $7.6B | 1,400 | 58 |
| Nu-Look Collision | 1981 | $7.4M | 50 | - |
| ECP Incorporated | 1969 | $6.9M | 50 | 10 |
| S&S Automotive | 1982 | $940,000 | 10 | - |
| Capital City Auto Auction | - | $44.6M | 249 | - |
| Harriman | - | $2.1M | 5 | 27 |
| The Mercury | 1938 | $6.4M | 92 | 105 |
| Gibbs Truck Centers | 1969 | $14.0M | 125 | 7 |
| Southern Auto Group | - | $14.0M | 100 | 41 |
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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of SMART, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about SMART. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at SMART. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by SMART. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of SMART and its employees or that of Zippia.
SMART may also be known as or be related to SMART, Smart, Smart Corp and Smart Corporation.