Smart

A sketch previewing the updated electric-only Smart ForTwo has been unveiled ahead of the car's debut at 2019 Frankfurt motor show, which kicks off in the middle of September. To mark the transition to an all-electric lineup the Smart ForTwo and ForFour models will be given a facelift. While the sketch indicates the updated ForTwo will have a wider body and more aggressive stance, spy photos show the car's body panels will be untouched.

Daimler and Geely have agreed to form a joint venture company to run Smart, with each firm owning 50 per cent and having three seats on the board of directors. As was planned before today's announcement, Smart will become an all-electric brand from 2020 onwards. It will also continue to focus on inner city-friendly vehicles, although the "product portfolio is also planned to be extended into the fast-growing B-segment".

BMW and Mercedes-Benz are the second pair of automakers to confirm a partnership this week, after Ford and Volkswagen announced they will work together on utes and vans. The companies announced their intent to combine mobility divisions last year, but approval from anti-trust regulators has only just come through. Daimler, parent of Mercedes-Benz and Smart, and BMW expect to complete dotting their Is and crossing their Ts for the new 50/50 joint venture by the end of month.

Dieter Zetsche, boss of Mercedes-Benz, has confirmed the Smart micro car brand will go all-electric in European markets by the end of the decade. Speaking at the company's annual shareholder's meeting, as reported by Carscoops, Daimler's little city car brand will only offer its electric vehicles (EV) in the coming years, following a similar move made in the North American market this year.

BMW, Daimler (parent of Mercedes-Benz and Smart), Ford and Volkswagen have joined forces to roll out a fast charging network for electric cars across Europe. Ionity, a new joint venture company equally owned by the four automakers, plans to have approximately 400 high-power charging stations open "across European major thoroughfares" by 2020.