Daimler, BMW Investing €1 Billion to Develop Mobility Apps
The BMW Group and Daimler AG are pooling their mobility services to create a new global player providing sustainable urban mobility for customers.
The two companies are investing more than €1 billion in total to develop car-sharing, ride-hailing, parking, charging and multimodal transport apps.
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.
Said Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: “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.”
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Said Harald Krüger, Management Board Chairman of BMW AG: “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.”
