BMW takes a further step in its mobility services: it acquires DriveNow in full

The Bavarian manufacturer is increasingly clear about this. Mobility of the future requires new services, and the BMW Group wants its share of the pie. That is why it has bought the majority stake in DriveNow that was held by Sixt SE, the car rental company with which it launched this mobility services company in 2011. Signing of the agreement is still pending the approval of the antitrust authorities.

DriveNow (ReachNow in the United States) is an electric vehicle carsharing service currently operating in more than 15 cities in both Europe and the Americas. In Madrid, it has been running on a trial basis since late 2016 in collaboration with Cabify, offering electric vehicle carsharing through the mobility operator with its i3 and Mini One Electric models.

The BMW Group is pursuing a strategy to expand its mobility services on demand (DriveNow and ReachNow), parking (ParkNow), and charging (ChargeNow). This year it has added both the acquisition of Parkmobile LLC (which made BMW the global leader in digital parking solutions) and the full acquisition of DriveNow. In addition, during 2018 it will begin a trial launch of new subscription-based mobility services in the United States.

“Our goal is to win 100 million customers for our premium mobility services by 2025. With DriveNow as a wholly owned subsidiary, we have every option for the continued strategic development of our services in our own hands. Our experience with mobility services supports our development of future autonomous, electrified and connected fleets,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Board Member for Customer Commitment and Innovation and Digital Business at BMW AG.

DriveNow, a service used by more than 1 million customers

Currently, more than one million customers regularly use DriveNow’s mobility services in 13 European cities. The fleet devoted to this exceeds 6,000 vehicles, including both BMW and Mini models, among them the BMW i3 and the Mini One Electric. “In 2017, our customers covered more than eight million kilometres with the DriveNow electric fleet alone, which is equivalent to driving around the world more than 200 times on electric power. DriveNow not only reduces traffic and improves parking in urban areas, but also supports the advancement of electric mobility,” said Sebastian Hofelich, Managing Director of DriveNow. “We look forward to continuing to work with our franchise and our partners in the various cities where we operate to keep actively shaping urban mobility in a sustainable way,” Hofelich added.

Following the sale of its stake in DriveNow, the BMW Group and the car rental company will continue their active business collaboration through the supply of both BMW and Mini vehicles for Sixt’s rental fleet. “The joint development of DriveNow impressively demonstrates the innovative strength of Sixt and the BMW Group. We would like to thank the DriveNow employees for their success, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the BMW Group through our BMW and Mini vehicle supply contracts,” said Alexander Sixt, Head of Strategy on the Board of Management of Sixt SE.