With urban populations exploding and cities such as London imposing a congestion charge on vehicles in the central city, “it’s entirely possible that we could see certain cities blocked for cars with internal combustion engines,” says Ludwig Willisch, the newly appointed chief executive of BMW North America. “You can only go there with an electric car.”
So BMW is committing more than $1 billion getting ready for a customer who doesn’t exist just yet: young, urban, affluent and looking for a premium electric ride–but maybe just to share rather than buy outright. In June 2011 BMW launched DriveNow, a premium car-sharing service with Germany’s Sixt AG. Customers can access cars using a special computer chip in their driver’s license and can hire and leave them wherever they wish, rather than returning them to a specific location. The service started in Munich, with plans for other congested cities. BMW also created a $100 million venture capital fund, BMW i Ventures, to invest in startups like MyCityWay and ParkatmyHouse, which offer mobility services for crowded cities.
So BMW is committing more than $1 billion getting ready for a customer who doesn’t exist just yet: young, urban, affluent and looking for a premium electric ride–but maybe just to share rather than buy outright. In June 2011 BMW launched DriveNow, a premium car-sharing service with Germany’s Sixt AG. Customers can access cars using a special computer chip in their driver’s license and can hire and leave them wherever they wish, rather than returning them to a specific location. The service started in Munich, with plans for other congested cities. BMW also created a $100 million venture capital fund, BMW i Ventures, to invest in startups like MyCityWay and ParkatmyHouse, which offer mobility services for crowded cities.As for the cars, BMW hasn’t announced
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