In a bid to rival mobility services providers Uber and other tech firms, German carmakers Daimler and BMW have unveiled a joint ride-hailing, parking and electric car charging business.
As part of plans to disrupt the mobility industry, the car firms said they would inject more than 1 billion euros ($1.13 billion) to augment the joint venture, shifting beyond manufacturing and car sales toward pay-per-minute or pay-per-mile systems.
According to Consultancy PwC, carmakers face marginalization by cash-rich technology firms unless they develop services based on vehicle usage.
It is common knowledge that established ride-hailing firms have been expanding. For instance, China’s Didi Chuxing aims to build its business in Latin America and Uber is gaining a stranglehold on its U.S. market.
Daimler’s Chief Executive, Dieter Zetsche said.”Further cooperation with other providers, including stakes in startups and established players, are also a possible option.”
Sequel to the deal between both firms, Daimler’s Car2Go car-sharing brand will be combined with BMW’s DriveNow, ParkNow, and ChargeNow businesses, with both carmakers holding 50 percent stake in the venture.
According to Reuters, the venture has five strands: REACH NOW, a smartphone-based route management and booking service, CHARGE NOW for electric car charging, FREE NOW for taxi ride-hailing, PARK NOW for parking services and SHARE NOW for car-sharing.
“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,” said BMW Chief Executive Harald Krueger.
Also, BMW and Daimler are working to develop autonomous cars, vehicles which could enable them to up-end the market for taxi and ride-hailing services.
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