Dynamic growth in joint ventures’ mobility services: nearly 90 million customers – up 44 percent since start of 2019 +++ New umbrella organisation supports efficient steering and focusing of activities +++ FREE NOW increases gross merchandise value (run rate) / platform revenues significantly to reach new record of more than two billion euros +++
Munich/Stuttgart – Following the successful launch of the YOUR NOW joint ventures in February 2019, the companies are maintaining their dynamic growth course: Almost 90 million people currently use the joint ventures’ mobility services for car-sharing, ride-hailing, parking, charging and multimodal platforms, which are offered in over 1,300 cities worldwide.
The shareholders are now setting course for the joint ventures’ next phase of expansion, which will be focused on profitable growth. The services offered by the joint ventures will continue to be tailored to customer needs and clustered into three pillars: 1. FREE NOW. 2. SHARE NOW. 3. PARK NOW & CHARGE NOW. The introduction of a new umbrella organization, effective 1 January 2020, will support efficient management of these three pillars.
Rainer Feurer, Senior Vice President Investment of BMW Group: “As a shareholder, we firmly believe that combining the services into three pillars will strengthen the joint ventures’ impact and focus in a highly competitive, fast-growing environment. Both shareholders are backing the YOUR NOW business model and are determined to develop the joint ventures into a leading player in the mobility market.” Franz Reiner, CEO of Daimler Mobility AG: “We are setting the course for the YOUR NOW joint ventures to achieve sustainable profitability. At the same time, partnerships are increasingly important to success in the marketplace and, in this respect, we are open to further stepping up growth.”
FREE NOW achieves platform revenues of more than two billion euros and reaches almost 300 million trips
FREE NOW (formerly mytaxi), one of Europe’s leading mobility providers, which includes the taxi and ride-hailing services FREE NOW, Beat, Kapten and electric scooter service Hive, is heading for record earnings for 2019: The annual GMV run rate (gross merchandise volume; platform revenues) will reach more than two billion euros – increasing the previous year’s figure significantly. In 2019, the volume of tours (i.e. number of trips) was up 120 percent from 2018: FREE NOW will have completed almost 300 million trips in 18 European and Latin American countries by the end of this year. More than 39 million passengers took advantage of the services provided by more than 800,000 affiliated drivers. Growth was also driven in part by the highly successful launch of Beat in Mexico City and Kapten in London, as well as expansion of the FREE NOW car rental service “Ride” in Germany, which allows customers to book a rental car with a licensed driver at a fixed rate.
FREE NOW is also firmly on track for growth in 2020: Additional mobility services, such as e-scooters, electric bikes, car-sharing and public transport will also be integrated into the app, alongside its core ride-hailing business. This integration of multimodal mobility offerings builds on REACH NOW’s expertise in pooling several mobility services, with booking options, on a single platform (“Mobility-as-a-Service“ or MaaS). REACH NOW services are currently used by more than 7 million people in 20 cities worldwide. In the south of Germany, on-demand ride-sharing options have been expanded in conjunction with the Karlsruhe Transport Authority (KVV) in Ettlingen and the public transport company Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB) in Stuttgart. REACH NOW will increasingly focus on the development of various mobility solutions, such as Mobility-as-a-Service platforms and on-demand solutions for and with cities and public transport companies.
