So it actually happened. The mobility providers BMW and Daimler today announce the merger of their mobility services. Both companies will invest € 1 billion over the next few years to further expand their existing carsharing, ride-sailing, parking, charging and multi-modality offerings.
What services does this joint venture between BMW and Daimler include?
The network for the new Mobility Services comprises the five joint ventures Reach Now (Multimodal), Charge Now (Charging), Free Now (Ride-Hailing), Park Now (Parking) and Share Now (CarSharing). For example, for the millions of users of car2go and DriveNow car sharing services, the new brand will be Share Now.
The joint offer of BMW and Daimler is already successful in 14 markets. With Reach Now, Charge Now, Free Now, Park Now and Share Now, the BMW Group and Daimler AG are now jointly offering their innovative solutions for cities and local authorities. The core issue here is to make urban traffic more efficient and sustainable.
Common digital mobility services are expected in the areas of electromobility and autonomous driving.
In perspective, customers can expect additional mobility offerings based on fully-electric and self-driving fleets. Which are available on-demand, self-charging, and can automatically park and network with other modes of transport, road and rail. In the urban mobility competition, the new joint venture promises to play a leading role, especially in competition with major mobility startups such as UBER, Lyft, Didi & Co.
What is the name of the new network of joint ventures for the joint mobility offer of BMW Group and Daimler AG?
But what happened to the new name Jurbey, which we had already announced a few days ago for the new joint venture? Well, to be honest we are a bit surprised, as the name Jurbey was not pronounced today in one syllable.
Only this passage in the respective press releases points to the background to Jurbey’s naming: “Customers will move on their Urban Journey in a seamlessly networked ecosystem that unites Car-Sharing, Ride-Hailing, Parking, Charging and Multimodality from a single source just a few taps, “says the BMW press site. Jurbey should be based on this Urban Journey the new name of the joint venture. Let’s wait and see, it’s all about the content of the activity and less about the name itself.
60 million common customers in 14 markets creating a European mobility giant
“We are creating a world-leading game changer. It will enable our approximately 60 million customer mobility today in a seamless, sustainable ecosystem of car-sharing, ride -ailing, parking, charging and multi-modality. Our vision is clear. The five services are increasingly merging into a mobility offering with fully-electric and self-driving fleets that can independently recharge and park and connect with other means of transport, “said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.
“We have built a strong customer base with our mobility offerings. Now we are taking the next strategic step, “said Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Through the intelligent linking of our joint ventures, we are jointly shaping the urban mobility of today and tomorrow.”
Can the network of joint ventures form further partnerships in the field of Next Generation Mobility?
“Collaborations with other providers as well as acquisitions of Startups or established players are also conceivable,” emphasized Zetsche the openness of the new ventures for further partnerships.
What does this merger of Mobility Services by Daimler and BMW mean for mobility startups?
This announcement is always exciting for the mobility startups in which BMW Group and Daimler are already invested. The people of Munich are strongly involved in UnternehmerTUM in Garching. Daimler, in turn, maintains its own ecosystem for innovation with its Startup Highway. “The startup Autobahn is a success story that we, as initiators, are very proud of, because it bundles competencies and is a true innovation accelerator,” says Ralf Lamberti, Head of Intellectual Property, Trends & Innovation at Daimler AG. Since the launch of the platform in 2016, several mobility startup solutions have been integrated into Daimler’s product range.
It remains to be seen how the new joint venture will evaluate the previous investments in mobility startups and how synergies can also be used here.
Also published on Medium.