German vehicle manufacturers, Daimler AG DDAIF and BMW AG BAMXF, are working toward combining their car-sharing services, per a Reuters report. The merger talks between the Car2Go and DriveNow — the car-sharing services of Daimler and BMW, respectively — are now in the final stages and the merged entity will run independently. In fact, this merged entity is deemed to take on Uber, the ride-sharing service provider, based in the United States.
Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler is one of the biggest producers of premium cars. Car2Go of Daimler, which was introduced in 2008, operates about 14,000 cars, located in 26 cities in North America, Western Europe and China. Notably, the number of customers of Car2Go increased 30% in 2017 to around 3 million.
Munich, Germany-based BMW is engaged in developing, manufacturing and selling cars and motorcycles, and spare parts and accessories worldwide. Launched in 2011, DriveNow is a joint venture (JV) between BMW and car rental firm Sixt. DriveNow operates more than 6,000 vehicles in nine top European cities. The number of customers of DriveNow rose 25% in 2017 to around 1 million.
According to the news, though the technology of both the companies will be merged, names of both the brands will be retained. A deal is expected next month.
Two other important companies in the in the auto space are Tata Motors Limited TTM and Volkswagen AG VLKAY.
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