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BMW, Daimler Near Deal to Merge Car-Sharing Services
BMW AG and Daimler AG are close to a deal to combine their car-sharing services into an independent company controlled by the two carmakers.
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BMW AG and Daimler AG are close to a deal to combine their car-sharing services into an independent company controlled by the two carmakers.
An executive source tells Reuters the plan would merge the BMW DriveNow and Daimler Car2Go car-sharing services and BMW’s Park Now vehicle parking app. the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung says the two sharing businesses will retain their brand names but integrate their operating systems.
Daimler launched Car2Go a decade ago. The system currently operates a fleet of 14,000 vehicles in 26 cities in China, Europe and North America. Car2Go says its customer base grew 30% to about 3 million last year.
DriveNow, which began in 2011, is a joint venture between BMW and European rental car firm Sixt. The business’s fleet of 6,000 cars serves some 1 million customers in nine European cities.
Speculation about the services pooling their resources arose more than a year ago. Reuters reported in August that the two businesses were in merger talks to improve their competitive strength against ride-hailing services Lyft and Uber, both of which have introduced pay-per-use car services.
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