German automakers BMW and Daimler have signed a €1.1 billion mobility partnership. The plan is to set up all-electric, autonomous, and on-demand mobility vehicles. As a result, the initiative is expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs worldwide.
“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,” said Dieter Zetsche, the chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Further cooperations with other providers, including stakes in startups and established players, are also a possible option.”
The two car giants have an active customer base of more than 60 million. And the companies will grow their global footprint as their existing mobility services combine to form 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 are creating a leading global game changer. The 60 million customers we already have today will benefit from a seamlessly integrated, sustainable ecosystem of car-sharing, ride-hailing, parking, charging and multimodal transport services. 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,” added BMW AG’s management board chairman Harald Krüger. “This service portfolio will be a key cornerstone in our strategy as a mobility provider. The cooperation is the perfect way for us to maximize our chances in a growing market, while sharing the investments.”
REACH NOW offers over 6.7 million users simple and direct access to a range of mobility services through a single multimodal platform. And the REACH NOW apps is going to offer a range of options for getting from A to B, which allows users to book and directly for public transport and other mobility options like car-sharing, ride-hailing and bike rentals. REACH NOW is going to be managed by Daniela Gerd tom Markotten as CEO and Johannes Prantl as CFO.
Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS) developed the CHARGE NOW service and its comprehensive charging network, which is a key contributor to zero-emissions driving. CHARGE NOW also makes public charge points quick and easy to locate, use, and pay for (home and abroad). Digital Charging Solutions GmbH also develops standardized access to public charge points for car manufacturers and fleet operators. With more than 100,000 charge points across 25 countries, its white-label solutions are helping fleet operators and OEMs realize their strategies for electric mobility. And customers can benefit from cross-border access to one of the largest and fastest-growing charging networks with over 250 charge point operators (CPOs) to date.
PARK NOW essentially makes parking easier on-street or off-street. And the digital parking service offers users the best possible parking solutions at a glance, allowing them to reserve parking slots and manage their parking times. Plus it enables ticketless entry and exit in public garages along with cashless payment of parking fees. As a result, PARK NOW is helping towns and cities reduce traffic volumes and making city centers cleaner and healthier. There are more than 30 million customers using the service in more than 1,100 cities across Europe and North America.
CHARGE NOW and PARK NOW are being led by Jörg Reimann as CEO. And Thomas Menzel is overseeing these joint ventures are CFO.
FREE NOW provides a variety of mobility services including taxis, rental vehicles with private chauffeurs, and e-scooters at the tap of a finger. FREE NOW is one of the largest ride-hailing services in Europe and Latin America with more than 21 million customers and over 250,000 drivers. FREE NOW is being led by Marc Berg as CEO and Sebastian Hofelich as CFO.
And SHARE NOW is a free-floating car-sharing service where customers can rent and pay for vehicles by smartphone anytime and anywhere. Now the fleet can be extended to incorporate a wider range of models and increase market coverage. There are more than 4 million customers in total who are currently using the fleet’s 20,000 vehicles in 31 cities around the world. Olivier Reppert was appointed CEO of SHARE NOW and Stefan Glebke as CFO.
