The BMW Group and Daimler have partnered up and invested over €1 billion to create a new global player aimed at providing sustainable urban mobility for customers.
The two companies will develop and more closely link their offerings when it comes to car-sharing, ride-hailing, parking, charging and multimodal transport. Together they will take on five joint ventures: REACH NOW for multimodal services, CHARGE NOW for charging, FREE NOW for taxi ride-hailing, PARK NOW for parking and SHARE NOW for car-sharing.
“We have a clear vision: these five services will merge ever more closely to form a single mobility service portfolio with an all-electric, self-driving fleet of vehicles that charge and park autonomously and interconnect with the other modes of transport,” said BMW management board chairman, Harald Krüger.
“Our mobility services have developed a strong customer base and we are now taking the next strategic step. We are pooling the strength and expertise of 14 successful brands and investing more than €1 billion to establish a new player in the fast-growing market for urban mobility,” said chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Dieter Zetsche.
“By creating an intelligent network of joint ventures, we will be able to shape current and future urban mobility and draw maximum benefit from the opportunities opened up by digitalization, shared services and the increasing mobility needs of our customers,” he added.
The partnership and ventures are open to potential cooperation with other providers, including stakes in start-ups and established players.
