Mubasher: China’s automotive industry company Geely and German automaker Mercedes-Benz, a subsidiary of Daimler, have launched CNY 5.4 billion ($780 million) joint venture to build electric cars under the Smart brand, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Each company will pay 50% of the total investments in the JV, which has received regulatory approval.

The JV’s manufacturing facilities will be located in China Ningbo city, while sales operations will take place in both China and Germany.

Geely will take charge of the engineering of new cars, while Mercedes-Benz will be responsible for their overall look.

Each of the partners will have three executives on the JV’s board of directors. Tong Xiangbei, from Geely, has been appointed as CEO of the new entity.