Two of the leading German-based rival automakers Daimler and BMW are integrating their mobility services investments to create a joint venture with an unusual name.
According to sources that are familiar with the venture, the joint mobility services entity will be named “Jurbey.”
Both automotive companies are expected to roll out the new jointly held mobility services company by the close of February.
Spokespeople drawn from both German-based automakers refused to make any statement regarding the news.
The trademark for the particular name (Jurbey) was registered back in August, primarily by Cornelius Bartenbach Haesemann & Partner.
SEE MORE: World’s Top 33 Companies Working on Self Driving Cars
The law firm is behind the registering of the Daimler trademark “Das Beste Oder Nichts” back in 2019.
According to the trademark filing, Jurbey will provide the following services:
- “Software, in particular for providing information on transportation services, for providing parking spaces for vehicles and for supplying and distributing energy”
- “Arranging of contracts for the provision of transportation services, in particular, rental of vehicles, providing of sparking spaces and vehicle parking as well as travel route planning and navigation services”
- “Insurance services, in particular, insurance underwriting”
- “Loan and credit financing services”
- “Petrol station services, namely, refueling, washing, cleaning, maintaining and repairing of vehicles; charging of electric vehicles and car batteries”
- “On-line access to data and application programs for the provision of transportation services and for booking transportation means, for providing parking spaces for vehicles and the supply and distribution of energy.”
The European Commission approved the partnership between BMW and Daimler’s mobility services, specifically on the 7th of November, detailing the plans to combine the firm’s existing brands in five enterprise areas:
- Charging services through Digital Charging Solutions and ChargeNow
- Parking services through Parkmobile Group/Parkmobile and ParkNow
- Ride-hailing services through Beat, Clever Taxi, Chauffeur Privé, and mytaxi
- Free-floating vehicle sharing services through car2go and DriveNow
- Other on-demand mobility services through ReachNow & Moovel
According to the approval granted by the European Commission, a “sixth joint venture will manage the brands and license them out to the other five joint ventures.”
A person conversant with the plans of the joint venture said that BMW and Daimler have announced that the joint venture will be based in Berlin, and European workers from the affected brands have been informed to shift to the German capital.
Munich and Stuttgart offices, particularly those belonging to some affected entities were originally required to stay open as “satellite offices,” even though they are now being closed down in the hope of being consolidated into the new Berlin-based office.
Some sources revealed that such plans have resulted in some dismay, particularly inside some BMW and Daimler mobility sub-brands.
SEE MORE: BMW Shares Self Driving Car Road Map
SEE MORE: Bosch and Daimler to Launch AI-Driven Taxi Service in 2019
This feeling has spilled over into the public with a given Stuttgart-based worker criticizing the move in a post published on Kununu, a German-based job review website.
Thorstein Heilig, the Moovel’s head of people and organization, responded through confirming the management’s need to centralize workers in the Berlin-based office.
However, he added that the state of affairs was fluid and that workers would get weekly updates, primarily on consolidation plans.
Sources revealed that a department store building dubbed “Kaufhaus Jandorf,” which is located on Brunnenstrasse in Berlin Mitte is expected to operate as the new joint headquarters for both Jurbey and its sub-brands.
Silke Walters, a Daimler spokesperson, said to Berliner Kurier that the automaker has been granted a 30-year lease for the particular building and could utilize it for office space as well as an exhibition for its future mobility plans.
According to a given source, the new Berlin office will comprise of offices for 500 employees.
Previously, Daimler used the Art Noveau department store building, primarily for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week events.
A visit to the building back in November revealed that it is currently being renovated extensively.
What’s more, a source familiar with the situation on the ground said that employees of a single affected brand are now being shifted into an interim office located in Berlin until the joint base of operation with other companies has completed its renovations.
Daimler AG is German-based global automotive company based in Stuttgart.
The company was previously referred to as DaimlerChrysler and Daimler-Benz formed by purchasing Chrysler Corporation in 1998 and through merging with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie in 1926 respectively.
BMW is a German-based automotive company that enjoys a reputation for producing luxury motorcycles and automobiles.
The company manufactures motor vehicles in numerous countries such as South Africa, the United States, Germany, India, China, and Brazil.
