The venture, called “smart Automobile Co., Ltd.” will see Mercedes and Geely contribute a total of 5.4 billion Chinese Yuan (roughly $780 million) to the initiative, which aims to expand Smart’s EV-only portfolio with a new range of global products, slated for launch in 2022.

Given Mercedes’ brand and heritage, it’s unlikely that its own-brand lineup will become 100 percent electric any time soon, but the company’s continued investment in electrification in other areas of its business, such as Smart, shows it’s still going to great lengths to succeed in this area.

The cars themselves are still easily recognizable on the outside, although there’s no doubt that they’re designed for electric powerplants with fronts that are designed to cool electric motors. You’ll notice more changes underneath. Neither the Fortwo nor the Forfour is a beast with a 41kW continuous output motor, an 81MPH top speed and a modest 0-62MPH time of 11.6 seconds (12.7 for the four-door). The range is healthy relative to the size of the cars, though. You’ll get a peak 99 miles of range (95 for the Forfour). While that’s based on the generous NEDC testing cycle, it’s still a sizeable jump over the 57 miles you saw from the Fortwo Electric Drive. It’s enough for the urban environments Smart calls home, and a charge from 10 percent to 80 percent takes 40 minutes without requiring a DC charger.

The interior may represent the most conspicuous change. The new models’ infotainment systems revolve around your mobile devices — the eight-inch touchscreen is really a host for whatever your phone is doing (the press shots clearly illustrate Apple CarPlay support). Given the fairly rudimentary in-car tech of Smarts past, that’s likely a good thing. Smart’s companion mobile app continues to offer services ranging from remote management to car sharing and parking, but there’s now a streamlined interface and an Apple Watch app to put basic battery and climate control features on your wrist.

It’ll be simpler to buy a Smart as well. You’ll still have the usual base, Passion, Pulse and Prime models, but you now have just three equipment packages to choose from. The default Advanced package includes the phone tie-ins, while Premium throws in a rear-facing camera as well as a panoramic roof (or a draught stop on the Fortwo cabrio). Go with a Premium package and you’ll get illumination upgrades that include full LED lighting as well as rain and light sensors.

Pricing isn’t available at this stage. However, you can safely assume these cars won’t be available in the US. Daimler conspicuously pulled the Smart brand from North America, in part because it wasn’t a great fit. Microcars make more sense in dense European cities than sprawling North American highways, and the Forfour has never been available in the region. Even so, this shows that Daimler is serious about electrifying its vehicles, and hinting that it’s really just a matter of time before its cars ditch combustion power.

As we learned this winter, the SmartOven+ has a 4.5-inch LCD display and an app that lets you control the oven and its attachments. You’ll be able to adjust the steamer via the oven’s display, and you can enable alerts to let you know when your baked goods are perfectly crisped. In the US, the SmartOven+ is compatible with Google Home and Alexa, and users can receive alerts from their Nest thermostat app if they leave the oven on unintentionally. While the smart kitchen revolution has been a slow one, KitchenAid and its parent company Whirlpool are at the forefront. Next, we’ll see if KitchenAid follows Whirlpool’s lead and adds smart watch compatibility or augmented reality features.

Production of the Fortwo in North America is expected to come to an end in June, but the Smart brand will continue on elsewhere. Daimler has an agreement in place to start selling its all-electric vehicles in China and will build a new factory in the country to produce the cars. Sales in the country are expected to start in 2022. While it won’t be available from dealers, it does appear the Fortwo will remain a presence in the US as part of Daimler’s recently rebranded car-sharing service Share Now.

Despite its unique look and size, Smart just never really caught on in the US. The brand launched in 1998 but didn’t make its way to North America until it debuted in Canada in 2004 and finally trickled to America in 2008. Other electric cars with more seating, better range and competitive pricing made it difficult for Daimler’s vehicles and their novel look to gain much traction.