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Vehicle-Sharing Companies car2go and DriveNow Announce Merger

Car2Go and DriveNow

Texas-based car2go and its German equivalent DriveNow announced a merger that they state will make them the largest car-sharing company in the world. Under the new ShareNow banner, the union will bring a fleet of roughly 20,000 cars together to service some 30 cities in North America and Europe servicing around four million clients.

The merger is part of a bigger conglomeration of automakers BMW and Daimler AG, which between them own five mobility services including DriveNow. While capturing a larger part of the market, the new organization plans to create more efficiency in cities where ShareNow is based. Company statistics reveal that a car-sharing vehicle generates the same transportation results as up to eight privately-owned automobiles. They also claim those same vehicles are used up to six times more frequently.

“ShareNow has a clear vision: to create sustainable mobility for and with cities – with far less traffic and reduced emissions,” said Olivier Reppert, former Managing Director of car2go, who now heads the new company. “Our service improves quality of life in cities because we offer a cost-efficient and flexible alternative to owning a car.”

Part of that vision is making the most of its electromobility fleet, as four of the company’s European cities feature 100 totally electric fleets and 13 others have an inventory of partially electric fleets. Combined worldwide, overall performance of some 3,200 electric vehicles under the ShareNow umbrella have accounted for nearly 75 million miles since the two free-floating companies first started operating independently.

“With the joint expertise and resources of two powerful car-sharing services, ShareNow will continue to grow in the future and convince even more people to opt-in for our flexible mobility service,” added Reppert.

In Germany alone, the ShareNow vehicle fleet includes BMW, Mercedes-Benz, smart and MINI models, 7,000 of which can be booked using the car2go and DriveNow apps. ShareNow currently has the task of integrating those smartphone apps into a single car-sharing app that can be used on the two continents the company services. Once the integration is complete, the company will work on new branding strategies for all of its vehicles in the combined fleets.

Besides ShareNow, BMW and Daimler AG operates four mobility companies that include ReachNow, ChargeNow, ParkNow and FreeNow, which all boast high-tech amenities and resources shared between the two parent auto makers. All are geared towards meeting mobility and car-sharing needs of more urban consumers.

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