Feb. 22, 2019
BMW and Daimler Chrysler announced plans to invest more than $1.1 billion (1 million euros) into a comprehensive urban mobility joint venture that will include ride hailing, car sharing, digital parking, car charging and multi-modal transportation.
The businesses already have more than 60 million customers worldwide and the new venture will result in the creation of more than 1,000 jobs by the companies, according to a press release.
"Our mobility services have developed a strong customer base and we are not taking the next strategic step," Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz cars, said in the press release. "By creating an intelligent network of joint ventures, we will be able to shape current and future urban mobility and draw maximum benefits from the opportunities opened up by digitialization, shared services and the increasing mobility needs of our customers."
The businesses will include the following:
Reach Now, which includes 6.7 million customers worldwide, will give customers the ability to book ride-hailing, car sharing and bike rentals using a mobile app. Daniala Gerd tom Markotten has been named CEO and Johannes Prantl named CFO.
Charge Now, a service from Digital Charging Solutions GmbH, will make public charging stations, with zero emissions, available, with 100,000 locations in 25 countries around the world.
Park Now allows customers to reserve, pay and park in public garages and other sites without using tickets and make cashless payments. More than 30 million customers are using the service in 1,000 cities globally. The Charge Now and Park Now services are headed by Jorg Reimann as CEO and Thomas Menzel as CFO.
Free Now offers taxis, private chauffeurs with rental vehicles and e-scooters, with more than 21 million customers and 250,000 drivers. The service is one of the largest in Europe and Latin America. Marc Berg is CEO and Sebastian Hofelich is CFO.
Topics: In-App Payments, Mobile Apps, Mobile Payments, Region: EMEA
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