Smart

Smart has revealed the Final Collector's Edition based on its ForTwo city car, marking the last run of combustion-powered vehicles for the micro car specialist before it switches to full e-mobility. Just 21 examples of these special editions will be produced, developed in collaboration with industrial designer, Konstantin Grcic. The Final Collector's Edition commemorates 21 years of the Smart brand, the 21-vehicle final production run, and "21 years always a step ahead".

Three sources have told The Financial Times Daimler, owner of Mercedes-Benz, is close to selling a 50 per cent stake in the Smart brand to Chinese automaker Geely. A deal could be announced as soon as the Shanghai motor show, which takes place in the middle of April. If the sale goes ahead, it would fit both Smart's future vision for itself and Geely's acquisitive streak.

Mercedes-Benz has ordered €20 billion ($31 billion) worth of lithium-ion battery cells, which will see the company through until 2030. The German automaker expects battery-electric vehicles to account for between 15 and 25 per cent of its annual sales by 2025. To put that into context, the company sold a total of 3.3 million vehicles in 2017. Assuming zero growth, that would equate to between 495,000 and 825,000 electric vehicles.

There are plenty of cars well suited to carting around the makings of a disco. Vans, for example, have plenty of space for the speakers, lights, smoke machines and equipment necessary for a big party. In a marketing tie-up with a product designer Konstantin Grcic, Smart took what was arguably the least-suited car for carting equipment around – the ForTwo – and turned it into the Mobile Disco. As marketing stunts go, this is an interesting one.

The Mercedes-AMG Project One hypercar might have stolen all the limelight at the Mercedes-Benz unveiling before the official opening of the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, but the diminutive Smart Vision EQ ForTwo is just as important to the future DNA of Daimler globally according to the man who should know. "We will actively shape the future of mobility, and invest massively in our future," said Dr Dieter Zetsche, chairman and head of Mercedes-Benz cars.