(Yicai Global) April 25 -- (Yicai Global) April 25 -- Smart, the joint venture between Mercedes-Benz AG and Geely Auto Group, will enhance its efforts to enter the European market but will not join China's car price wars, according to the brand chief.

Smart started to transport vehicles on a large scale to Europe in February and last month, its production surpassed 10,000 units, Tong Xiangbei, global CEO, said to Yicai Global during the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show. The marque plans to launch a new model every year till 2024, he added.

Geely and Mercedes-Benz AG formed a joint venture in 2019 to run smart globally, each of them holding 50 percent of the equity, while doubling down on electric models. Tong, former assistant president of Geely, was appointed as the first global CEO. The urban car brand was originally established by the German firm and Swatch Group, a Swiss watch manufacturer in 1994, but global sales peaked at only 150,000 vehicles.

After a comprehensive renewal of its brand, product and business model, Smart launched its first all-electric compact SUV, the Smart #1, in April 2022. Customer deliveries tallied nearly 12,700 units in the first quarter of this year, exceeding the total of last year.

Smart's 2022 sales were lower than expected due to the Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain factors, but the brand will ensure user demand in the two major markets of China and Europe with rising production capacity, per Tong.

The brand debuted its smart #3, a sports utility coupé, at the latest Shanghai Auto Show. The SUV may enter the market in June with a unit price of over CNY 200,000 (USD28,945).

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi