BMW Group and Sixt SE extend car sharing programme. Brussels becomes 10th DriveNow city in Europe.

Munich – Brussels. As it celebrates its fifth
anniversary, DriveNow is extending its service to Brussels. The
Belgian capital is the tenth European city where the premium car
sharing joint venture from BMW Group and Sixt SE will operate. Car
sharing without a branch office has been allowed in Brussels since
June and the service will offer a range of BMW and MINI models on the
proven free-floating car sharing concept.

Speaking on the occasion of DriveNow’s fifth anniversary, Peter
Schwarzenbauer, BMW AG management board member responsible for MINI,
BMW Motorrad, Rolls-Royce, Aftersales and Mobility Services said, “We
are delighted to welcome Brussels as the tenth DriveNow city, a
fitting way to celebrate five years of premium car sharing in Europe.
In terms of customers, we already lead the car-sharing market in
Germany and our aim is to achieve that across Europe. We are convinced
that our premium individual mobility services will be a key factor for
success in the future. Of course services will not replace the
automotive sector, but they are an important additional area for our
business. That’s why we are constantly looking at where we can take
DriveNow next.”

Following its launch in Munich in June 2011, DriveNow has constantly
expanded its mobility services in Europe and now has more than 600,000
customers. In addition it’s five German locations (Berlin, Hamburg,
Munich, Düsseldorf and Cologne), DriveNow services are also available
in London, Vienna, Copenhagen, Stockholm and – as of this month – in
Brussels. In Germany, DriveNow records an average of over half a
million journeys every month. An average journey is between 8 and 15
kilometres and lasts 20 to 40 minutes.

Electric vehicles were first introduced into the DriveNow fleet in
summer 2013 and today, the joint venture offers electric BMW i3
vehicles in almost all of its cities. Twenty percent of the entire
fleet is electrically powered and over 150,000 customers had their
first electric driving experience thanks to DriveNow, with the
company’s electric vehicles having covered more than three million
kilometres in total.

The BMW Group believes that car sharing using electric vehicles is a
vital step in providing customers with easy access to electric
mobility, reducing emissions in cities and helping to attain a higher
quality of life in an urban environment.

The ongoing expansion of car sharing is in line with the corporate
strategy NUMBER ONE NEXT, which was presented in March by Harald
Krüger, Chairman of the Board of the BMW AG. The strategy considers
the further development of customer-oriented mobility services to be a
central business area of the future.

With ventures such as DriveNow, ParkNow or ChargeNow, the BMW Group
was quick to focus on the increasing significance of digital services,
identifying them as an important factor for future success.

This is the context in which the BMW Group introduced ReachNow in
Seattle (USA) in April. ReachNow is a further development of the
car-sharing concept, offering a chauffeur service, a car-delivery
service, car sharing for closed user groups, the renting out of
private vehicles and longer-term use of a car. North America is
considered the ideal pilot market for the further expansion of urban
and sustainable mobility and there are plans to expand the ReachNow
service to further cities in the USA.

 

In the event of enquiries please contact:

BMW Group Corporate Communications

Almut Stollberg, Business and Finance Communications

Phone: + 49 89 382-38770, Fax: + 49 89 382-24418

E-Mail:
almut.stollberg@bmw.de

 

Sylvia Heydt, Business and Finance Communications

Phone: +49 89 382-23522, Fax: + 49 89 382-24418

E-Mail:
sylvia.heydt@bmwgroup.com

 

Internet: www.press.bmwgroup.com

E-Mail:
presse@bmw.de

 

 

The BMW Group

With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the
world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles
and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global
company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities
in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

 

In 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and
nearly 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the
financial year 2015 was approximately 9.22 billion on
revenues amounting to 92.18 billion. As of 31 December
2015, the BMW Group had a workforce of 122,244 employees.

 

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

 


www.bmwgroup.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview

Google+: http://googleplus.bmwgroup.com