BMW ramps up car sharing in Europe

BMW kicks off its DriveNow program next monthwith 300 1-Series and Mini cars in Munich and 500 in Berlin.  DriveNow - a joint venture between Sixt and BMW - aims for one million customers by 2020.Short-term car hire from manufacturers is already available in Europe from Mercedes-Benz's "Car2Go" - which uses Smart cars - and Peugeot-Citroen's "Mu" program which includes cars, vans, scooters and bicycles.BMW sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson says it follows the growing trend for inner-city residents to move away from car ownershipWe are aiming to launch a profitable new line of business while at the same time introducing potential new customers to our brands,"  at DriveNow's launch this week in Munich.
DriveNow customers will be able to rent a car "on the spur of the moment" if they need the vehicle for a trip into the city or a day out.  DriveNow cars will be parked at different locations around the cities. Motorists book them on the internet or with a smartphone app, then access the vehicle with a chip embedded in their driver's license.car sharing helps the environment by reducing traffic volumes and is an alternative to using old and inefficient vehiclesBMW plans to rent its new all-electric vehicles - the i-cars previously known as MegaCity - as part of the scheme in the future.Global consulting and research group  says the number of people using car-sharing services is expected to grow to 5.5 million in Europe and 4.4 million in North America by 2016