Daimler AG and the BMW Group are collaborating on a joint urban mobility company to create a sustainable, multi-modal, readily accessible urban transportation system. Ride hailing, carsharing, charging and parking in urban centers, all accessible through a single digital experience, will be key components of the new venture.
“The future of mobility is being shaped in major cities. With the ecosystem we are planning, we will create solutions for tomorrow’s urban mobility: intelligent, seamlessly connected and available at the tap of a finger. We believe this will improve quality of life in major cities,” said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.
On-demand, multi-modal transportation will be facilitated by moovel and ReachNow, which already have millions of users accessing taxis, bike rentals, carsharing, and public transport.
Chauffeur Privé, mytaxi, Clever Taxi, and Beat will support ride-hailing, and they already have 15.9 million customers. Car2Go and DriveNow will support carsharing. Together, they have over 4 million customers and 20,000 vehicles in 30 cities around the world.
“Our vision is to create a major global player for seamless and intelligent connected mobility services together. As a hub for creativity and innovation, Berlin is exactly the right location for our plans,” said Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
ChargeNow and Digital Charging Solutions will provide many charging stations with easy access. DCS is a BMW Group subsidiary and the ChargeNow app had access to about 6,300 charging stations in France alone, it was reported in 2018.
ParkNow and Parkmobile Group/Parkmobile LLC will provide parking services. Parkmobile has 27 million customers in North America and Europe.
To put it very simply, the two auto giants are consolidating their existing resources and networks to take advantage of their individual strengths. The urban mobility market could reach a value of $25 billion by 2024, according to a Navigant report.
Image Credit: Bieppo, Wikipedia, Public domain
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