Press Information
20 October 2011
Revolutionizing Mobility: car2go and Europcar extend Partnership Europe-wide• New Joint-venture to launch car2go in European Cities
• Five European cities served before year-end
• Company will be located in Stuttgart with a car2go majority stake
Ulm/Guyancourt - car2go GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler AG, together with Europcar, the leader in car rental services in Europe, will create a new joint-venture to accelerate and extend their innovative partnership Europe- wide. The new company is called "car2go Europe GmbH" and will enable the two partners to bring the unique car2go mobility service to millions of drivers throughout Europe. Daimler's car2go GmbH will be the majority shareholder in this new company."Similar to the initial car2go Hamburg joint-venture, founded last October, the new company is built around a balanced cooperation between the same two strong partners," said Robert Henrich, CEO of car2go GmbH. "car2go Europe will be able to swiftly launch large-scale rollouts and strengthen our first mover advantage as the world's first free-floating, one-way carsharing service."
Headquartered in Stuttgart, car2go Europe GmbH will be a limited liability company owned 75% by car2go GmbH of Ulm, Germany and 25% by Europcar of Guyancourt, France. Branches and subsidiaries of car2go Europe GmbH will be established throughout Europe as operating companies.
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car2go Europe plans to rollout car2go services in 40 to 50 European cities, and will announce shortly the fifth European city to be launched by year end. The resources benefiting the new company include access to car2go technology and know-how, the "car2go" and "Europcar" brands, Daimler's vehicle-related services and Europcar's car rental know-how and infrastructure.
The launch of car2go in the French city of Lyon early 2012 will be the first under the responsibility of car2go Europe GmbH. Existing European car2go operations, including those in Hamburg, will be integrated into the new company, with the exception of those in Ulm, which will continue to serve as a long-term test location.
The partnership offers both partners far-reaching advantages: car2go can benefit from Europcar's vast expertise in terms of fleet management and logistics as well as using its partner's extensive network of branches to offer customers further places to register for the scheme alongside its own car2go shop.
The CEO of Europcar Groupe, Philippe Guillemot, commented: "car2go sees us expanding our range of mobility services to include a highly innovative element. Europcar has been offering individual-mobility solutions for more than eighty years and has always anticipated changes in mobility behaviour at an early stage. Now, together with Daimler, we are providing innovative urban mobility solutions to serve current and future needs and reach new categories of customers. The partnership generates synergies for both partners and offers a wide choice of mobility options for practically any occasion."
The innovative mobility concept car2go was developed by Daimler AG in 2008. Today, with a total of more than 45,000 members and 1,100 vehicles worldwide, car2go has proven success in four cities: Ulm and Hamburg in Germany, the Texan capital Austin in the US and Vancouver in Canada. Three other cities are announced yet: Lyon (France), Amsterdam (Netherlands) and San Diego (USA). In Amsterdam and San Diego car2go will start operations before the end of 2011 with full-electric fleets of 300 car2go smart fortwo electric drive vehicles in each city. Since the first launch in the southern German city of Ulm in March 2009, more than 900,000 trips have been made and approximately 9 million kilometres have been covered.
Contacts:
car2go GmbH Andreas Leo
+49 (0) 731 505 6821
andreas.leo@daimler.com
Europcar International
Marine Boulot
+33 (0)1 30 44 94 30 marine.boulot@europcar.com
Daimler AG Eva Wiese
+40 (0) 0711 17 92311 eva.wiese@daimler.com
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Further information from car2go, Daimler and Europcar is available online:
www.car2go.com
www.media.daimler.com www.europcar.com
About car2go
A subsidiary of Daimler, car2go is an innovative mobility
solution redefining individual transportation in rapidly
growing urban areas by offering a fleet of several hundred
environment-friendly smart fortwo vehicles for rent. It
provides an innovative mode of "on-demand" transportation
which compliments existing public transportation alternatives
by bridging the gaps commonly associated with the "first
and last mile" of a public transit commute.
car2go is currently operational in four cities: Ulm and
Hamburg in Germany, Austin, Texas (USA) and
Vancouver in Canada. Unlike traditional carsharing programs
or car rental companies, car2go is not station-based. car2go
vehicles are located throughout the city and can be accessed
"on-demand" without booking in advance. The members may use
the vehicle for as long as they like, without committing to a
specific return time or return location. Charges are based on
minutes used and include fuel, insurance, parking and
maintenance.
About Daimler
The company's founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz,
made history with the invention of the automobile in the year
1886. 125 years later, in the anniversary year 2011, Daimler
AG is one of the world's most successful automotive
companies. With its divisions Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler
Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Buses and Daimler
Financial Services, the Daimler Group is one of the biggest
producers of premium cars and the world's biggest
manufacturer of commercial vehicles with a global reach.
Daimler Financial Services provides its customers with a full
range of automotive financial services including financing,
leasing, insurance and fleet management. As an automotive
pioneer, Daimler continues to shape the future of mobility:
the Group applies innovative and green technologies to
produce safe and superior vehicles which fascinate and
delight its customers. With the development of alternative
drive systems, Daimler is the only vehicle producer
investing in hybrid drive, electric motors and fuel-cell
systems, with the goal of achieving emission-free mobility in
the long term. This is just one example of how Daimler
willingly accepts the challenge of meeting its responsibility
towards society and the environment. Daimler sells its
products in nearly all the countries of the world and has
production facilities on five continents. Its current brand
portfolio includes, in addition to the world's most
valuable automotive brand, Mercedes-Benz, the brands smart,
Maybach, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, Fuso, Setra,
Orion and Thomas Built Buses. The company is listed on the
stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Stuttgart (stock exchange
abbreviation
DAI). In 2010, the Group sold 1.9 million vehicles and
employed a workforce of over 260,000 people;
revenue totaled €97.8 billion and EBIT amounted
to €7.3 billion.
About Europcar
Europcar is the leading vehicle rental company in Europe,
providing car mobility to 6 million customers. Through its
franchisees and partners in over 150 countries, Europcar
gives access to the
#1 network in car rental. Europcar brand portfolio generated
revenue of c.€3.1 billion including c.€2.0 billion Europcar
group revenue. Supported by 6,600 dedicated staff and with
long-standing local presence, Europcar facilitates the mobile
lives of its customers around the world, offering them
customized and innovative car mobility solutions. Europcar is
a subsidiary of Eurazeo.