BMW Follows Daimler Into The Car-sharing Business

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

Together with the car rental company Sixt, BMW founds the DriveNow joint venture. Customers are to be presented with a car sharing offer.

After its competitor Daimler, BMW is also entering the car-sharing business on a large scale and setting up a joint venture with the car rental company Sixt. In April, the joint venture will start under the name DriveNow, first in Munich and then in Berlin, as both companies announced on Monday. There are around 300 cars available in Munich and 500 in Berlin, which can be rented for 29 cents per minute.

BMW focuses on new business area

Unlike many other car sharing offers, BMW cars are not parked at fixed stations, but can be rented and parked anywhere in the city center. After registering, customers can look up where there is an available car on the Internet and open and start the vehicle with a chip on the driver's license. After the start in Munich and Berlin, the concept will also be implemented in other cities at home and abroad. BMW and Sixt expect one million DriveNow members worldwide by 2020.

BMW is following the example of the car manufacturer Daimler, whose subsidiary Smart already offers Car-Sharing projects in Ulm, Austin / Texas and Hamburg with Car2go. As Smart boss Annette Winkler announced last week, she sees a mega trend towards car sharing. Accordingly, she is also planning to expand the offer. The decision has already been made that Car2go will start in another European and North American city this year. (AG / dpa)