Daimler And BMW To Launch Joint Mobility Company On February 22

BMW and Daimler are expected to launch their company on February 22.

The two German automotive powerhouses announced in April 2018 that their Car2Go and DriveNow car sharing services would be merged into one. These services already provide roughly 20,000 vehicles across 31 major cities around the world

The company’s brands will focus on five different business areas, with Car2Go and DriveNow being the first.

BMW and Daimler will also partner on multimodel and on-demand mobility with moovel and ReachNow for its ‘other on-demand mobility services’ brand, while combining ride-hailing services mytaxi, Chauffeur Prive, Clever Taxi, and Beat into a distinct brand. Additionally, parking services Park Now and Parkmobile Group/Parkmobile will be combined as will charging services ChargeNow and Digital Charging Solutions.

The European Commission approved the merger on November 7.

Neither Daimler nor BMW have commented on what the joint mobility services company will be called, but a host of sources point towards the name ‘Jurbey’ as the most likely. German trademarks for the name were registered in August by law firm Cornelius Bartenbach Haesemann & Partner, a company Daimler has used to register trademark applications in the past.

The new joint venture will be headquartered in Berlin and existing employees will need to move to Germany’s capital to retain their jobs. Original plans called for existing offices in Stuttgart and Munich to remain open, but plans have obviously changed.

“Our vision is to create a major global player for seamless and intelligent connected mobility services together. As a hub for creativity and innovation, Berlin is exactly the right location for our plans,” Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche said.