BMW Group and Daimler AG Invest More Than 1 Billion Euros In Joint Mobility Services

It was last year that the BMW Group and Daimler AG decided to pool their mobility services and now the companies are ready to create a new global player providing sustainable urban mobility for customers. The two companies are investing more than 1 billion euros in total to develop and more closely intermesh their offerings for car-sharing, ride-hailing, parking, charging and multimodal transport. The cooperation comprises 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.

Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars said, "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. 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. Further cooperations with other providers, including stakes in startups and established players, are also a possible option."

The two companies' mobility services have a strong customer base, with a combined total of over 60 million active customers to date. The companies will grow their global footprint as their existing mobility services combine to form five joint ventures and the key regions here are Europe and America.

The two companies' mobility services have a strong customer base, with a combined total of over 60 million active customers to date

Harald Kruger, Management Board Chairman of BMW AG said, "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. 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."

The new mobility portfolio will be easy to access, intuitive to use, and will cater to customers' needs. Its seamlessly integrated, sustainable ecosystem will make mobility more convenient - because cities are where the future of mobility will be decided. This is confirmed by the choice of Berlin as the base for the organization's headquarters. The next few years will see up to 1,000 new jobs created worldwide - including in Berlin and Germany.