BMW has bought out its joint venture partner Sixt in the premium car sharing programme DriveNow.
Established in 2011, the announcement was made subject to final approval on January 29.
In a statement, BMW said that the acquisition would allow the Group to continue its systematic development as a customer-centric mobility company with efficient, sustainable mobility solutions from a single source.
“We have achieved extraordinary success with DriveNow over the past seven years – thanks to the efforts of the DriveNow employees and the excellent cooperation with our joint venture partner, Sixt. Sixt will remain a strong partner for us in the future,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for MINI, Rolls-Royce, BMW Motorrad, Customer Engagement and Digital Business Innovation BMW Group.
“Our aim is to win 100 million customers for our premium mobility services by 2025. With DriveNow as a wholly-owned subsidiary, we have all options for continued strategic development of our services in our hands. Our experience with mobility services supports our development of future autonomous, electrified and connected fleets.”
It is thought the move allows for BMW to merge its car sharing service with Daimler’s car2go – see BMW and Daimler to merge car sharing services?