BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz Mobility have decided to sell their joint venture called ‘Share Now’ to Stellantis. The three companies have already sealed the deal by signing an agreement, the details of which are yet to be disclosed.
As per the joint statement, the sale of the car-sharing subsidiary will contribute to the realignment of the mobility joint ventures. In the future, shareholders intend to concentrate on two central business areas with high growth potential: digital multi-mobility (Free Now) and digital services related to the charging of electric vehicles (Charge Now).
The sale follows Share Now’s retreat from the North American car-sharing market in 2019 in response to high maintenance costs and what the brands described as the “volatile state of the global landscape”.
“We are proud to have founded the free-floating car-sharing segment with car2go. Although Mercedes-Benz will focus more strongly on its core business in the luxury segment, car sharing will remain an important part of urban mobility and an essential element in the mobility offer at Free Now. With Free Now and Charge Now, we are focusing on two growth segments that will continue to offer our customers the entire range of mobility services in the future and support the expansion of electric mobility,” said Gero Götzenberger, Director of Strategy and Investments at Mercedes-Benz Mobility:
Rainer Feurer, Head of Corporate Investments at the BMW Group, adds: “The mobility joint ventures have been pioneers in Europe – Free Now and Charge Now have been very successful in building a software platform for as many players as possible in their respective segments. The new orientation enables us to scale our activities faster and thus to achieve further profitable growth in the shortest possible time.”
