2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
Car2go is tackling the next continent. The car sharing service in the Chinese city of Chongqing has a pilot character for the entire Asian market.
After Europe and North America, Car2go is launching on the third continent. The car sharing service has signed a letter of intent with the city council of the central Chinese city of Chongqing, the company announced. "With the car2go launch in Chongqing, we will once again assume the pioneering role and underline the great importance of the Chinese market for Daimler," said CFO Bodo Uebber.
Chongqing as big as Austria
Several hundred Smart Fortwo should be launched within a year. Moovel GmbH, which is responsible for the Daimler subsidiary, will set up its own subsidiary in China, which car2go will initially operate in Chongqing. Chongqing is the largest city in the world within its borders and covers an area the size of Austria. Around 7.7 million people live in the metropolitan area, and 4.3 million in the core city.
"With our planned start in Chongqing, we want to get to know the Asian market and gain important experience for further rollouts," says Roland Keppler, COO of moovel GmbH and responsible for car2go at the Daimler subsidiary.
Car2go receives the suffix Ji Xing
While the white and blue paintwork will also characterize rental vehicles in China, the name will be given the addition of Ji Xing, which translates as "set off straight away". For Klaus Entenmann, CEO of Daimler Financial Services AG, to which car2go is assigned within the Daimler Group, the start in Chongqing is an important step for the other branches of the company. "Asia is an important market for Daimler, not only in the area of automobile construction and sales but also for all financial and mobility services."
Car2go is currently on the move at 29 locations worldwide and is used by more than a million customers. According to the market leader, over 32 million fully automated rental transactions have been completed so far. A car2go rental begins every 1.5 seconds. The number of rents tripled in the past year. (AG)
