Cash Crunch? BMW and Daimler to Sell PARK NOW Joint Venture to EasyPark Group

Cash needed at Daimler and BMW? Two German companies their own interests? Inability to fit and manage the joint venture under future plans? Take your pick or picks. The timing seems odd.

BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG have agreed to sell their joint venture PARK NOW Group to EasyPark Group, subject to the usual regulatory and antitrust approvals. PARK NOW is the digital  “find a parking spot” of the German carmakers’ YOUR NOW Joint Ventures  – along with services for car sharing (SHARE NOW), ride hailing and trip planning (FREE NOW/REACH NOW), as well as charging (CHARGE NOW) in Europe and North and South America. PARK NOW operates under the brands RingGo, PARK NOW, Park-line and Parkmobile in 11 countries.

PARK NOW Group offers a digital services related to parking − both in car parks and on-street in more than 1,100 cities. Customers can reserve, book and pay for parking spaces online in advance via the app. The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction. The timing is questionable given the headlong auto industry rush to survive and then thrive in the transformation to mobility companies.

EasyPark claims to be an international player and is celebrating its 20-year anniversary. EasyPark wants to buy PARK NOW to expand its business activities according to its global growth plan. EasyPark is a growing, European mobility company that helps drivers remotely find, manage, and pay for both parking and electric vehicle charging. EasyPark  says it supports its users, the companies they work for, cities and parking operators with parking administration, planning and management working in ~2,200 cities in 20 countries throughout Europe and Australia.

The intended acquisition of PARK NOW Group enables EasyPark to grow in parking-related digital mobility services. The two companies appear to be positioned for market coverage in the US and Europe. “With its global coverage and scale as well as an integrated portfolio,” EasyPark said,” it intends to fund additional growth and expansion and will offer even better, integrated services to their customers in the future. EasyPark “intends to fund additional growth and expansion and will offer even better, integrated services to their customers in the future.”