Smart Logo

Brand History

The Smart Story

Smart began in 1994 as a joint venture between Daimler-Benz and Swatch founder Nicolas Hayek, who envisioned an ultra-compact, stylish city car. The original Smart City-Coupé (later Fortwo) launched in 1998 and became an icon of urban mobility, though the brand struggled for profitability for much of its life under Daimler. In 2019, Mercedes-Benz and China's Geely formed a 50:50 joint venture to relaunch Smart as an all-electric brand, with design led by Mercedes-Benz and engineering and production based in China.

Logo History

Evolution Of The Smart Logo

1. 1994–2018

   Smart's logo combines a circular 'C' (for compact) with a yellow arrow pointing forward, symbolizing forward thinking. It was typically paired with the lowercase 'smart' wordmark.

2. 2018–present

   With the brand's relaunch as an electric-only marque, the emblem was simplified into a flatter, more minimal rendering of the circle-and-arrow mark, retaining the lowercase wordmark.

Model Evolution

Smart Through The Years

3 milestone models from 1998 to 2004.

1998

2003

2004