BMW and Mercedes are giving up their shared carsharing service.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich BMW and Mercedes-Benz want to sell their car-sharing service called “Share Now” to their competitor Stellantis. The two German carmakers announced on Tuesday that a declaration of intent had recently been signed. It was agreed not to disclose any details. Stellantis, the parent company of brands such as Fiat, Chrysler, Peugeot and Opel, can expand the range of its mobility subsidiary Free2move with the acquisition. The antitrust authorities still have to approve the sale.
“Share Now” is the largest European provider of station-independent car sharing. The company is represented in 16 European cities with around 11,000 vehicles and claims to have around 3.4 million customers. There has been speculation about a sale for some time.
BMW and Mercedes-Benz merged their mobility services business in 2019 to form the “Your Now” joint venture. These include the car-sharing service provider Share Now, the taxi and ridesharing agency Free Now and the charging station platform Charge Now. In the same year, the company announced that it would be leaving the North American business. In March 2021, the two partners sold the parking app “Park Now” to the Swedish competitor Easypark. The Reach Now mobility app has been retired.
The sale of “Share Now” enables Mercedes-Benz and BMW to now focus more on the ride-sharing and charging station brokers. Using the “Free Now” app, users can combine different means of transport, from electric bicycles to car sharing cars. Local public transport is also being increasingly integrated. “The new orientation enables us to scale our activities more quickly and thus further profitable growth in the shortest possible time,” said BMW manager Rainer Feurer.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
“Charge Now” brings drivers of electric cars and charging station operators together and, according to the company, now covers 85 percent of charging offers in Europe. Charging service and multi-mobility platform are two central business areas with high growth potential. Last year, Free Now almost tripled the number of transactions, and ten new partners will be integrated on the platform this year. Charge Now offers access to 300,000 charging points in Europe via the service provider DCS, including complete billing.
Concentration on the luxury segment
According to BMW and Mercedes, the Stellantis subsidiary Free2move now has the opportunity to expand car sharing in Europe with the takeover of Share Now. Mercedes-Benz Director Gero Götzenberger said: “Even if Mercedes-Benz will focus more on its core business in the luxury segment in the future, car sharing will remain an important part of urban mobility and at Free Now an essential element of the mobility offer.”
In the planned takeover, Stellantis emphasized growth, especially in German cities. According to Free2move boss Brigitte Courtehoux, you will gain another 3.4 million for your own sharing offer, which has been profitable since 2020 with two million customers so far. Sales of 2.8 billion euros are expected in 2030 with 15 million customers worldwide and 700 million euros in 2025.
The Share Now cars will be taken over and no pure Stellantis fleet will be offered in the future either, said Courtehoux. Although there are 14 strong brands, other customer requests will also be taken into account.
More: Free Now will also broker rental cars from Sixt in the future